Tanzetti Dreams
by Tanzettigirl
Summary: Part 1 in Tanzetti series. MMPR mid Season 3 Billy falls in love with a woman he met at a bookstore, but when her dark secrets threaten the Rangers can she make the ultimate sacrifice?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own the Tanzetti characters and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Prologue

She ran.

The sharp branches of the trees cut at her from all sides. She could feel them slice through the folds of her uniform, through the unprotected skin underneath. She ran harder.

Her legs burned, there was no strength left in body. If she didn't get there soon she'd collapse from exhaustion before she could fulfill her task. That wasn't an option.

She kept running.

There was only one goal now, one hope. Madala had to get to the temple before Baylin. Everyone else was dead, there was only her. In her hands she clutched the six Tanzetti Crystals, three in each hand, the chains woven over her fingers so she couldn't drop them. The seventh crystal hung on her neck, its thick chain clung to the torn fabric of her shirt as she ran. She clenched her fists tighter around the chains and felt them cut into the soft skin of her hands.

Good, she thought. The blood will make them stronger.

The mist was heavy around her but she knew where she was going. The great temple, just beyond the forest. The most powerful spot on the planet. It was believed that was where the crystals came from. They were found in the earth by explorers who then built the great temple to contain their power. No one knew if the legend was true, but every Tanzetti knew the story from birth, and she herself had felt the power of the temple many times.

There would be no on waiting for her now, except perhaps Baylin. They were all dead, the Tanzetti warriors who had protected the planet for thousands of years were now lost. Her mother, her sister, her cousins, all killed trying to evacuate as many people as possible to escape Baylin's forces. Her father killed trying to infiltrate the Fortress of Dava, and Jayden…

_No!_ she screamed in her head. _I won't think of Jayden. I can't._

She blinked her eyes and pushed away the thoughts of her betrothed. She could still see his eyes, watching her only as he died. Her tunic now stained with his blood.

_I'll be with him soon_, she thought. The comfort of the thought made her run faster.

The entire planet paid the price for Baylin's greed. The Tanzetti fought as long as they could, but too many people were dying, so they tried to evacuate. The forces attacked the ships and Baylin used his own power to bring them down. Madala had stayed on the planet with her two cousins, Juniper and Kanya, using the power of the crystals to hold Baylin off. He'd overpowered them easily. They had no idea he had so much magic at his disposal. The battles had raged continuously after that, until every last one of them was destroyed, except her. Now she was going to take the one thing Baylin wanted. She was going to destroy the planet.

The mist began to lift and she knew she was close. There were no markers or signs here, not even a path through the woods, but she knew the way well. The power guided her and she saw the great stone stairway rise out of the mist.

She tried to take the ancient stone stairs two at a time and tripped, shattering her kneecap against the rock. She resisted the urge to heal it with her crystal and climbed the rest of the way with her hands to balance. It would take every ounce of strength she had to focus the power of the seven crystals, and with her death coming so soon there was no point in wasting energy over a broken bone.

When she reached the top he was standing there. Tall, well muscled, clothed in elegant blue silk and black armor, dark hair tied back securely in a club knot, several small trundles hung in tight curls at his temples.

"Baylin," she breathed. Her body gave way and she was on her knees, staring up at the man who'd destroyed her family, destroyed her entire race, for the sake of the power of the Tanzetti.

"I knew you'd come here," he said. His voice a rich bass that echoed through the stones and into the silence of the jungle. "You're the only one left. The power of this temple can no longer protect you."

Madala shook her head. "I don't need its protection. I'm going to destroy it."

He shook his head slowly and she forced herself to her feet, refusing to let him look down on her when she died. "It doesn't have to be that way," he said softly. "You have another option."

"That's no option," she said. "If I die the power dies with me."

He took a cautious step forward, then another. "We were friends once," he said, his voice still soft, barely above a whisper. "More than friends."

"You made that choice, not me."

He took another step. "It could have been different, between us."

She stood her ground, clutching the crystals tighter. "I guess we'll never know."

"You don't have to do this, Madala," he said. "I can protect you. I can give you more power than ever imagined. More than the crystals. We can create the Tanzetti race anew, they'll be an unstoppable force in the galaxy."

Madala allowed herself a tight smile. "You just don't get it, do you?" she said. "It was never about the power."

"It's always about the power."

Madala shook her head. "No."

His face hardened then, revealing the evil she'd come to know in him. He took another step forward and Madala knew she had to make her move. She stepped to the side trying to get deeper into the temple. She was at the edge of the platform and she didn't want to fall before she'd completed her mission. Baylin had just revealed his trump card and the fate he had planned for her would be much worse than death.

He stepped to block her and she moved again, rolling to the side to avoid jumping on her weak knee. She stopped in the middle of the temple, he turned, skirting the edge and stood, bracing himself to lunge.

She didn't give him the chance. She closed her eyes and reached out for the power. Her one crystal first, then the others, radiating out from her hands. There was only one way for a warrior to use the crystals together, and that way was death. The combined power would tear her apart as it struck a final blow to everything around it. It occurred to her that maybe it was lucky Baylin was here. Even if she couldn't muster the power to destroy the planet, the power would take him out with her.

She could feel his presence still in the temple. He was screaming her name, telling her to stop. She felt the assault of his powers pressing against hers, trying to hold her back, but it was too late. The power of the temple had joined her own. It radiated through her body, tearing it apart, each molecule vibrating, longing to break free.

Someone was screaming, but she couldn't tell if it was her or Baylin.

There was only one thought on her mind as she felt her body dissolve into the magic.

_Jayden…._


	2. Life on Earth

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own the Tanzetti characters and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

The alarm rang and Marcy Tannon jumped at it. She reached out and pressed the snooze button and buried her face in the pillow. She'd been having the dreams again, too vivid, to real.

_It's been ten years_, she thought. _When will it go away?_

But even as she thought it she knew the answer. It doesn't go away. Not in her lifetime. Not ever.

The buzz of the alarm jolted her again and she realized she'd fallen asleep, her face still buried in the pillow. She turned the alarm off and pulled herself away from the bed. Across the room her roommate Sarah was still fast asleep, completely oblivious to the alarm buzz. Marcy envied that, she'd never been a deep sleeper, she was too alert, too aware of the world around her to be lost to the subtleties of unconsciousness.

_And yet I still have nightmares_.

She dressed quietly in her workout slicks, tank top, and matching windbreaker then slipped quietly from the room. No one else was up at this hour. Her other two roommates, Ashley and Devon didn't have class until nine and usually woke with only enough time to jump in the car and speed to the university.

Marcy was different. She couldn't understand the propensity some people had to sleep the day away. But so far, she was they only one of her friends that found joy in rising at six am to go running.

As she stepped outside the small apartment building, MP3 player in hand the cold air hit her. It had rained the night before and the streets were still damp and misty from the sunrise. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment, the simple pleasure making her homesick.

As she let the breath out along with the sad memories and set her music player on her favorite playlist. She did a few warm up stretches then set out on her run.

Three miles around the neighborhood at a medium pace. That was her usual routine. She could do more if she wanted, and sometimes she did, but the three mile mark was more than enough to keep her in shape. When she'd first moved here she had given up on the exercise altogether for awhile, giving in to the popular notion of exercise being only for health nuts and jocks. Then, about two years later she'd been mugged outside a convenience store and nearly been taken down by the attacker. She'd managed to chase him down and return the favor, but her body was nearly spent from the effort and she was sore for days afterward. After that she vowed not to care what the popular notions were, she'd never let herself fall prey to weakness again. So she'd started running. That was also when she first enrolled in kickboxing class.

And now, eight years later, her body was in better shape than it had been on Cayldne. She was a competition level kick boxer and knew five different forms of martial arts. She'd been told by numerous coaches over the years that she had the skills to go pro in any of her specialties, but she'd resisted the offer. It wasn't fair after all, they were only human.

So she'd gone to college instead, trying to hone her mind into the same strength she demanded from her body. It was harder work, but she loved it. She loved her classes and her teachers, and the students that challenged her into thinking beyond the logic and straightforwardness she'd known as a child. And she would be sad next year when she graduated and had to leave the university. She hadn't made any plans beyond that so far, resisting the thought of what to do next with her life in favor of a more in the moment thinking that brought her comfort.

An hour later she returned to the apartment, sweating and breathless, and it was just as she'd left it. No movement, no sound, not even the stirring of restless sleep from her three roommates. Marcy never ceased to be amazed by this phenomena and laughed a little to herself as she took a shower and prepared for class.

The day passed quickly for Marcy and before she knew it she was driving up to the Book Basement, an eclectic used book store in Stone Canyon where she worked every afternoon and three weekends a month. The pay was excruciatingly low and if it weren't for the fact that she had four roommates and no car payment she wouldn't be able to sustain herself on this kind of employment. As it stood she'd probably only be able to continue working here until the end of the school year. After that she'd just have to see.

It would be sad to leave however. She loved being around books all day. She'd always had a pension for learning, and she loved fiction more than life itself. It reminded her of when she was little and her grandmother and great aunts would gather around the fireplace and tell stories of the ancients to her and her young cousins, stories that would one day shape their lives. Sure, the stories she read now were merely for entertainment, but she couldn't help feeling the pleasure of them all the same.

She sighed as she took her place behind the counter of the bookstore. I'm being too nostalgic, she thought, no wonder I'm having nightmares.

The phone rang and she picked it up, willing a smile on her face. "Book Basement, how can I help you?"

"Do you carry auto mechanic manuals?" a tenor male voice asked.

Marcy's smile went from forced to genuine at the odd request. "Sometimes, what are you looking for?"

"It's called Transon's Auto Guide."

"Which edition?"

"There's more than one?"

"There's four actually," Marcy said. "All out of print."

"Which ever one you have, I guess," said the caller.

"I know I can get you the fourth edition now, if you're willing to wait a week I might be able to get one of the others." _If they still exist_, she thought. The mechanic book he was asking for had been out of print for nearly a decade. It had taken her months of research to get the one she had.

"That's fine, can you hold it for me? I can pick it up tomorrow."

"Not a problem," Marcy said reaching for the notepad where they wrote down customer holds. The book he wanted wasn't actually in the store, but she could have it there tomorrow. "What's the name?"

"Billy Cranston."

"Alright, Mr. Cranston. I'll see you tomorrow. Just ask for Marcy."

"Thank you."

"You have a nice day."

Marcy hung up the phone and set the notepad aside thinking this would work out perfectly. She'd been dying for a new book to read but hadn't wanted to spend the money, but this was a great opportunity. The manager, Henry, was usually pretty loose with employees trading out books with each other, as long as they didn't abuse the privilege, so she was fairly certain that if she offered to trade her Transon's manual for Mr. Cranston, he would let her take her pick from the fiction section as payment. She picked up the notepad and walked to the back of the store to the manager's office. On the way she cut through the science fiction section of the store and slowly browsed the titles. Three or four jumped out at her and eventually she found one that was perfect. She pulled it off the shelf and continued to the office.


	3. Auto Maintenance

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

"Billy! Earth to Billy."

Billy snapped back to reality to see Kimberly's thin hand waving in front of his face.

"Sorry," he said.

"We've been standing here trying to talk to you for, like, forever," she said, stressing the word forever hard enough to let him know it was an exaggeration.

"Sorry," he said again. "I was just thinking about that Chemistry test. I think I used the wrong formula on the last question."

"I'm sure you'll still get it right," Rocky said. "You always do."

The Red Ranger blew out a hard breath and fell against his locker. Billy felt a twinge of sympathy for his friend. He'd spent most of the last week quizzing Rocky to prepare him for this test, and despite all his efforts and tips he knew in his heart Rocky would be lucky to pass.

"I'm sure you did fine, too," Billy said reassuringly.

Rocky just shook his head and leaned back against the locker and closed his eyes.

"Hey, you guys ready to go?" came a familiar voice from behind Billy's shoulder. Even if he didn't know the voice better than his own he would have known it was Tommy from the way Kimberly's face lit up. He turned to greet his long time friend and leader and saw Adam and Aisha trailing behind the White Ranger's massive stance.

"I can't work out today," Billy said. "I have to go over to Stone Canyon."

Tommy's face fell a little and he felt guilty for not mentioning it before. He'd been so worried about that Chemistry test and helping Rocky he'd completely forgotten.

"What's in Stone Canyon?" Rocky asked at the mention of his hometown.

"Bookstore," Billy answered. "I've been making modifications to the Rad Bug and they're not going as well as planned, so I looked up some manuals online and called around. It was the only store in the area that had it."

"That's cool," Tommy said. "We'll work out this weekend."

Billy nodded and followed as Tommy began moving toward the exit to school. They moved in a group for several paces then Tommy suddenly stopped. "Wait, if the Rad Bug isn't working how are you getting to Stone Canyon?"

Billy his face getting hot. "Bus."

"Billy, one of us can take you, all you had to do is ask," protested Kimberly.

"Well, this all came up at the last minute, I didn't want to bother anyone," Billy replied in defense.

"I'll take you," Rocky volunteered. "I don't have to give lessons until five, we can be back by then, and Tommy or Adam can cover for me if I'm late. It's the least I can do after you spent all that time helping me with Chemistry."

"Thanks Rocky," Billy said. "I appreciate that."

Rocky clapped Billy on the back and smiled. "No problem, man."

Rocky's truck roared through the narrow streets of Stone Canyon blasting rock music through the open windows. Billy hadn't been thrilled about having his eardrums assaulted by the heavy bass rhythms but he was so appreciative about not having to sit on a hot bus for half an hour each way he didn't complain. He just wanted to get his book and get home to fix his own car.

The Book Basement was located along a row of storefronts a few blocks from downtown. Rocky had never heard of the store, but had a good idea of where the address was, and they had only had to pass it once for Billy to pick it out among the other shops and direct him the rest of the way. There was plenty of parking and they found a space directly in front of the door. But as Billy climbed down from the large four by four cab he heard Rocky exclaim from the other side of the truck.

Always on alert for an attack Billy took off at a run for the sidewalk only to stop short at the absence of tengas or other monsters. Instead there was only Rocky, standing two parking spaces down, staring at a car with his jaw dropped so low it was about to brush the sidewalk.

"Do you see this?" he said pointing at the pink and white Cadillac in front of him.

"It's nice," Billy said.

"That's a fifty-nine Cadillac," Rocky said. "Look at it. It's in perfect condition. Someone invested a lot of money in this baby."

"Very nice," Billy said. "Hey, why don't you stay out here, I'll run in and get my book. It'll only take a minute."

Rocky nodded, not taking his eyes from the car. "Okay," he said.

Billy felt the cool relief of air conditioning as he pushed open the door. The bookstore was a long narrow space, crowded with bookshelves packed tightly together in rows with just enough room for a person to pass between without knocking them over. Off to the left, built into the wall, was a small counter where a young woman with long brown hair that hung down in her face stood, bent over something behind the counter that he couldn't see, her long hair forming a curtain around her head.

"Excuse me?" Billy said as he approached the deck.

The woman's head snapped up and with a quick flip of her hand the hair was tossed back revealing a small oval face with deep green eyes and sharp cheekbones. She looked young, younger than him maybe, but there was something in the contours of her cheeks, and the depth of her eyes that showed more age than she deserved without diminishing her beauty. Billy found himself brought up short by her soft smile.

"Yes?" she said.

"I'm Billy Cranston, I called yest-"

"The mechanic book," she interjected waving a pencil at him accusingly. "Yes, I have it here."

She turned and pulled the book from somewhere beneath the cluttered shelves of the counter and set it on the table. "You're lucky," she said. "I just happened to know someone who didn't need it anymore."

Billy was shocked by this revelation. He hadn't meant to create extra work for her. "Oh, I thought you had it here already. You didn't have to bother someone else for it."

She shrugged. "It was no bother. I gave up on German engineering two years ago."

"This was yours?"

Her smile widened. "Yep. Traded it in this morning just for you."

She leaned forward on the counter, making her long hair slide back down in her face and Billy nearly stopped breathing.

"Thank you," was all he could say.

She tapped a few keys on the cash register and told him the price. He pulled the rumpled cash out of his pocket and handed it over, still taking in the revelation that this woman was giving up her own book to make this sale.

"What are you working on?" she asked.  
"What?"

"The car," she said counting out his change. "What kind is it?"

"Uh, it's a seventy three Volkswagen Beetle…with custom modifications."

"Nice," she said approvingly. "You'll have to bring it by when you're done, show me what good this book can really do."

Her smile was so nice he couldn't help smiling back. "Okay."

She handed his change over the counter and when he took it his fingers brushed over hers and flinched, dropping the coins she'd balanced on top of the cash.

"Oh, God, sorry," she said.

Billy reached down and picked up the coins. He counted them quickly and saw they were all accounted for. "It's okay, I got it."

He looked up and saw she was leaning forward on the counter again, watching him. She was still smiling, but there was something else there, something in her eyes that counteracted the friendliness of the smile. "Did you see that pink and white Caddy outside when you came in?"

"Yeah, my friend Rocky is still outside drooling over it. Is it yours?"

She nodded, several locks of hair falling over her face. She shook her head to push them back then ignored them. "You want to see the inside?"

"Sure."

"Cool," she stepped around the counter and turned to the back of the store. "Mike, watch the desk, I'm going out front!"

When a muffled confirmation came from somewhere in the labyrinth of shelving she lead him out the door, keys in hand, back out into the sunshine. Rocky was leaning against the front of his truck legs crossed at the ankles when they emerged. He stood up straight when he saw Billy coming.

"This is my friend Rocky," Billy said by way of introduction.

The woman held out her hand. "Marcy Tannon." Rocky shook her hand, eyeing the woman suspiciously. "You the one who's been admiring my Caddy?"

Rocky pointed down the parking lot, his eyes wide with excitement. "That's yours?"

"Yeah," she said. "Restored her myself."

Marcy sauntered over to the car and opened the driver's side door. She leaned in and made a movement under the dashboard where they couldn't see and the hood popped open. She came back around to the front and opened it the rest of the way.

"Sweet," Rocky breathed. Billy had to agree. He'd only worked on a handful of car engines, but this one was far beyond anything he'd ever dealt with. Brand new six cylinder engine block, chrome piping, everything extraordinarily professional. This woman definitely knew her cars.

"I used the racing engine model to get better gas mileage, and up the horsepower a little," she said.

"You could have doubled your mpg with a fuel injection pump," Billy said, noticing the hand built carburetor just off the engine block.

"Now that would just be cheating," Marcy said. "You gotta respect the classics."

He laughed a little at that and looked across the car at her. She was leaning against the open hood, her head resting on her arms. "Besides," she said. "Fuel injection requires a computer interface and software and I have no luck with computers."

"The interface is nothing," Billy said. "One download off a laptop. I could show you in five seconds."

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? I'll have to remember that. Is that what you're using on the VW?"

"Of course," he replied. "I don't do so well with carburetors."

A smile spread across Marcy's thin face and she burst out laughing.

"What?" Billy asked, slightly offended.

Marcy just shook her head. "You're cute, that's all."

She unhooked the stand for the hood and let it slam home. "Well, I should get back to work," she said. She walked around Rocky, who'd been standing at the head of the car this whole time and paused as she past Billy. "If you need any more manuals or you want to know how a real car pumps fuel give me a call. My card's inside the book."

She gave him a little wink then walked back into the store. Billy watched her disappear behind the glass and didn't come back to reality until he felt Rocky slap him on the shoulder.

"Dude, why didn't you say something?"

Billy looked at his friend a little bewildered. "Like what?"

"She was totally flirting with you. You should have asked her out."

Billy laughed at that. He'd never have the nerve to ask out a woman like Marcy. She was way too independent, what would she have in common with him? "Yeah, right, Rocky," he said.

"Billy, I'm telling you, she was flirting with you. She put her phone number in the book for you." He began gesturing toward the store entrance. "Opportunity. Knocking."

Billy just shook his head and climbed into the truck. "You're seeing things, man."

Rocky climbed into the driver's side and turned the engine over. "Last chance," he said. "You can still go back in there."

"What would I say?" Billy asked. "The only thing we have in common is we like to work on cars, and we even do that differently."

"As far as you know," Rocky interjected. "Once you get to know her you could find out you have a lot in common. Go for it man. You never know unless you try."

Billy hesitated, biting his lip in concentration. She was beautiful, and it was extremely nice of her to show them her car. At first he thought she was just showing off, but the way she'd smiled at him under the hood like that, and her little comment…

"What would I say?"

"Ask her to work on the Rad Bug with you," Rocky suggested. "If it goes well you can ask her to dinner."

Billy thought about that for another moment. When Rocky said it, it sounded easy, but he knew the second he got in there and looked into those deep green eyes he'd lose his nerve, or stumble over the words. In his experience that wasn't something girls found endearing. Some did at first, shy girls, the kind he usually went out with, but that never seemed to work out because neither of them could ever move forward. It always got awkward way to quick.

_Maybe this would be different_, he thought. Marcy was definitely a different kind of woman. He remembered what he'd first thought when he saw her, that even though she was obviously young, there was something about her that conveyed experience and wisdom. It was endearing, and it scared the hell out of him.

"Wasting gas here," Rocky said in a mocking tone.

Billy opened the car door. "Shut the engine off."


	4. The Garage

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

She said yes!

Marcy had agreed to meet Billy to work on the car at eleven o'clock on Saturday.

Billy flew through the garage on Saturday morning as if possessed. He cleared the junk off workbenches and hid it in buckets and bins underneath. He started by actually organizing it, categorizing articles and projects, but as the time of Marcy's arrival drew near he began to panic and started throwing things around haphazardly, without even stopping to see what it was.

_It's a garage_, he told himself. _It's supposed to be messy_.

_But not this messy_, he argued. _This is disastrous_.

_Great, now I'm talking to myself and answering_. _Yeah, real sane_.

Finally the workbenches looked like they may actually be organized and he realized that half the tools he needed were scattered through the bins. He spent the next half hour sorting through each of them in turn, fishing out the necessary tools and cursing himself for not keeping track of things better.

When he finally had all the car tools laid out next to the Rad Bug it was ten till eleven. He decided he may as well get started. The plan was to make modifications to the transmission and the fuel pump. And possibly update the electronics to the engine. The entire system was almost fully computerized, but it had been over a year since he'd updated the software. The capabilities of the car with new computer components were limitless.

He looked at his watch. Five after eleven. There was no sign of Marcy. What if she changed he mind? What if she forgot? No, he told himself. She'll be here. He decided he might as well start the repairs to keep himself busy.

He's just worked his way under the car to loosen some bolts when he heard the sound of an engine revving nearby. The sound got closer until it was almost deafening. He pulled himself out from under the car and saw a large black motorcycle sitting in the driveway. The driver was covered from head to toe in black leather. The engine cut out as the driver parked and set the bike, then removed the helmet. Marcy stood before him, long hair braided tight down her back.

"Hey," she said.

"I thought you drove a Cadillac," Billy said.

"Only on workdays," Marcy replied. "Weekends I drive the bike."

"Did you build that too?"

She smiled as he admired the smooth chrome piping and black highlights. "You wanna go for a ride?"

He did. He really did. But then a wave or responsibility hit him. The Rad Bug was lying in pieces all over the garage. It was dangerous to have it out of commission like this. The Rad Bug wasn't just a car, it was a backup system. If they ever lost communication with the Command Center the Rad Bug was the best and fastest way to get to Zordon and Alpha.

"Maybe later," he said. "I really need to finish the car today if I can."

Marcy shrugged. "That's cool." She put the helmet on top of the bike and stripped off her jacket. Billy had to take a step back at what she was wearing underneath. A tight-fitting maroon tank top that accentuated nearly ever curve of her body. She didn't notice his reaction and stepped past him to the car.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "What the hell did you do to it?"

Billy came up and stood next to her. "I made a few modifications."

"A few? It's nothing but wires and circuits. Is there even a real engine in there?"

"Yes," Billy laughed. She was right, the Rad Bug didn't look like a typical engine under the hood. "Of course there is. I just installed a typical computer interface."

"Typical?" Marcy replied. "What are you trying to do reach light speed? It's a Volkswagen, not the Millennium Falcon."

Billy stepped around the car and gathered up his tools. "When I'm done with this, Han Solo will gladly trade in the Falcon for it."

He started to work on the valves he'd been removing before she arrived. When he looked up Marcy was still standing there, hands on her hips, just staring.

"What are you some kind of evil genius?" she asked.

Billy shrugged. "Well, maybe not the evil part."

She laughed at that, a full laugh that made her sway forward a bit and she stepped for the car, sorting through the tools. She selected one carefully and started working on the other side of the car, removing the matching valves for that side without any instruction.

"So, seriously," she said. "You obviously know your way around a computer, and car maintenance doesn't elude you so you're a decent mechanic, what else do you do?"

Billy shrugged and concentrated on not dropping the grease covered bolts in his hand. "I've always been interested in science. Computers, technology, physics…"

"What's your I.Q.?"

"173."

"You're kidding."

Billy shook his head. "It's been awhile since I tested it. That could be wrong."

"Uh-huh," was all she said. "Okay then genius, pi, go."

"3.1415926535…I can go on."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her look up and smile. "How many places do you know?"

"Fifty-three."

"Fifty-three? Not fifty, not fifty-five?"

Billy just shrugged and tried not to look up. He knew if he did his face would turn beet read the instant he met her eyes.

"You read binary?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

She laughed again and he risked a look up. She was standing straight up, a half a dozen black and grimy bolts in her hand. She placed them in a cup on the workbench and started walking around the car, the wrench she'd taken from the tool kit still in her hand.

"Just trying to unravel the mystery," she said.

"Yes, I can read binary," he said.

"Java?"

"Of course."

"HTML?"

"Yes."

She was all the way around the car now, less than an arm's length away. She played with the small wrench, twisting it between her palms.

"You speak Klingon?"

"No!"

"Awww," she exclaimed in mock disappointment. "So close. You were almost perfect."

She took another step closer and he looked up at her again. "That's too bad," she said. "I have a rule about not being friends with men who don't speak Klingon."

"Cause it's such a beautiful language," Billy countered.

Her smile widened.

Billy looked down, he hadn't even finished the second bolt. Marcy hadn't moved. He looked up at her again and she was still smiling.

"What?" he asked.

"You have some grease on your face," she said pointing to his cheek.

He pulled a rag from his pocket. "Where?"

She touched a finger to his face and could feel the trail of grime it left behind. "Right there."

"Oh!" He moved toward her, his own dirty fingers aiming for her face. She ducked under his arm and ran behind him. He turned and lunged for her, pinning her against the back of the car and swiping his fingers across her neck. She squealed and swatted at his face open handed, covering his other cheek with grime. She squirmed to get away and he tried to block, but their feet got tangled and he lost his balance.

He hit the garage floor hard, sprawled flat on his back.

"Ow."

Marcy was leaning over him. She'd fallen too, but managed to catch herself before hitting the concrete. She was still laughing and he heard her gasp to try and stifle the giggles.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Her face was inches from his, her green eyes bearing down on him.

He reached up and rubbed the back of his head. It was tender, but no blood. He hadn't really hit it that hard. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good."

Her lips came down on his before he could even move. Gentle at first, testing, gauging his reaction. He arched his neck up and kissed her back and she kissed him harder. It was slow and deep, and pushed him back into the cold cement of the floor.

"Hey Billy, I-oh, shit!"

Marcy sat bolt upright at the intrusion and Billy turned to the noise, knowing before he looked what he'd see. Tommy was standing in front of the motorcycle, gym bag in hand, white bandana holding back his long hair, looking around the driveway for anything to see other than the scene he'd just walked in on.

"Tommy!"

"I-I'm sorry, man. I didn't… I'll go."

"No, it's okay," Marcy spoke up. She stood up and dusted off her clothes

Billy stood up and there was a moment of awkward silence between the three. No one was sure who should go first. Eventually, Tommy decided to try.

He stepped forward and put his hand out to Marcy with a weak smile. "I'm Tommy."

"Marcy," she said. She reached out and shook his hand, realizing too late that it was covered in engine grease. She apologized and Billy grabbed some clean rags from a shelf and handed them to his friend.

Tommy looked from Marcy to Billy not sure who to address. "I, uh, I was just coming to see if Billy wanted to practice with me. We didn't have time yesterday and…"

"It's alright, man," Billy said helpfully.

"What are you practicing?"

"Judo," Tommy said. "Billy's almost ready for his brown belt test."

Marcy raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Computers, cars and martial arts? Geez, is there anything you can't do?"

"Cooking," both he and Tommy said at once. Billy looked over at his friend and leader and Tommy shot him a knowing smile. He had witnessed far too many of Billy's failed cooking attempts.

When he looked back at Marcy she was smiling too and he felt the heat of a flush creep up from his neck. Her smile widened, she was enjoying his embarrassment a lot more than she should have been.

"Brown belt," she said watching the rag in her hands. "That's pretty high, where do you train."

"We teach him privately," Tommy said. "Me and my other friend Rocky. We work at the Angel Grove Youth Center."

"The Youth Center? I thought that was only for high school students."

An alarm went off in Billy's mind, but Tommy apparently didn't notice. "Yeah," he said. "That's why we go there."

Marcy's expression went from cheery, to stunned, to something much darker. Something Billy didn't want to put a name to.

"High school," she said her voice ringing with a tone usually reserved for people being attacked by monsters in horror movies.

"Yeah," Tommy said evenly, obviously not catching the change in tone Billy was seeing. He knew something was wrong, and he had never wished more than now that Tommy would just stop talking. "Of course."

Marcy nodded, "Of course. How old are you?"

It was kind of an odd question at the moment but Billy answered automatically. "Seventeen."

She straightened up, her face suddenly hard, covering emotion she didn't want to express. "You know, Brown belt's a big milestone. You two should practice. I have other work I need to get done anyway."

"Oh," Tommy said quickly, the realization that he'd just walked into something that was going to destroy his friend's day hitting him. "No, that's fine. We can do it another time. I don't want to interrupt your plans."

But Marcy was already at the bike. Tommy took a step forward to try making another apology.

_Say something you idiot_, he told himself. _Don't let her leave_.

He stepped around Tommy and put his hand on the chrome handlebars. "You don't have to go."

She looked up at him. That look was there again, that fear, distress, something deeper. What could possibly have spooked her that way he didn't know, all he knew was that if she went roaring down the driveway, he'd never see her again.

"Yeah, Billy," she said evenly. "I really think I do."

"Marcy!"

But the helmet was on and the bike roared to life under her. Then she was gone.

Billy felt a strong hand on his shoulder and dropped the wrench he had been unconsciously clutching in his hand.

"Billy," Tommy said from behind him. "I'm so sorry man, I had no idea. I don't even know what I said."

"It's okay, Tommy," Billy said. "I don't think it was you."


	5. The Cave

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Marcy drove through the streets of Angel Grove, riding well above the speed limit. Her hands were clenched tight against the handlebars, the hard rubber of the grips already chaffing her ungloved hands. She kept riding, the wind whipping past her helmet creating a high pitched whine in her head that made thinking difficult.

She was grateful for that because she didn't want to think. If she started thinking she'd start feeling and if she started feeling she feel him. The rush of power and heat as his lips touched hers. That jolt of energy, of hidden strength and magic that resided somewhere inside him. She'd never felt that in a human before. In ten years on this planet she'd never come across a being that displayed power like that. Supernatural power, something beyond everyday strength and fortitude. Something beyond this world…

She'd known he was different from the first moment she'd seen him. He had a presence, something about him that made her more aware of him. He was what humans sometimes called an "old soul," a person who conveyed a wisdom and knowledge from another time, another existence. And when her fingers had brushed his as he handed over the money for his book she'd felt, even in that brief moment of contact, a jolt of power that was like nothing she'd felt since her own family back on Calydne. She hadn't seen anything specific, no images like she sometimes did, but she felt it, the weight of too many battles fought, of the secrets carried, the camaraderie and friendship forged on the battlefield and carried through life. And blue. The color blue was very important, but she didn't know why.

At first she thought it was a fluke. Maybe he was a soldier, or a cop and just looked young for his age. Maybe he was something else. But then she'd met Rocky. When she'd shook his hand there was no more question. Rocky was different as well, not as battle hardened as Billy, but a warrior all the same.

And Tommy. Good Lord, Tommy had enough power to kill her with that handshake, were he aware of how to properly use it. He was the leader, that she knew automatically, though she would have guessed it anyway given he was not only Billy's teacher, but Billy automatically deferred the conversation to him the second he'd arrived.

There was something else about Tommy. He was transcendent. He was the bearer of multiple sources of magic, not just the one he carried now. There were others in his past, and many many more in his future.

Marcy took a turn off the main road and hit the dirt path with a little too much force, blowing up rocks and debris around her as the bike shifted over the rough terrain. She eased up on the throttle until she felt the bike grip the ground again and kept going.

It was a long way to her destination, but she'd come prepared. She'd filled her gas tank before taking off this morning, anticipating taking a joyride later in the day. Of course, her plans had included having a passenger on the back of the bike, his strong arms wrapped around her waist, chest leaning close against her back…

She shook the thought from her head and the bike wobbled causing her to have to adjust her speed and balance again.

Seventeen. He's only seventeen!

It wasn't right. It wasn't right for the soul of such a tortured warrior be encased in that young a body. It wasn't right he'd seen things and felt things not meant for ordinary life before even reaching the age of adulthood. It wasn't right that when he'd touched her she felt a flutter in her stomach and when he kissed her she became hot with desire worthy of a classic romance novel.

Seventeen.

The bike crested the hill it had been climbing and came out on a wide ridge. There was a large boulder formation at the edge of the cliff. Marcy brought the bike to a stop and parked it near the base of the rock. She climbed off and threw off her helmet. She was so near tears now she could barely see as she walked around the cliff to a spot just before the ridge dropped off into valley below. She placed her hand on the rock and closed her eyes, concentrating on the door. The entrance to the cave that only she knew of. It was a simple spell, one that required very little power and within second the rock wall seemed to melt and flow in waved of brown and yellow reflected from the sunlight. She stepped into the waves and came through on the other side, into a vast round chamber. It was dark on the inside, the rock walls illuminated only by the glow of the six colored crystals embedded at intervals into it's walls.

Normally when she came here to seek advice she would stand in the middle of the chamber and call to the spirits with her questions. But today she had a different goal in mind. She crossed the chamber quickly and put her hand over the white crystal.

_Jayden_, she thought, reaching out with her mind. _Come to me. I need you_.

He'd never come before. She had spoken with the spirits of nearly every Tanzetti warrior that had ever carried one of the seven sacred jewels. It wasn't really them, just an imprint of their spirit, left behind after their death, kept safe inside the crystal, so that each warrior could seek out the wisdom of past generations at any time. They always came when called, and sometimes when not called, but needed all the same. But not Jayden. But then, she'd never called him before.

In the past she had been grateful that he didn't come to her with the others. If she could see his spirit, here at will, it would be like he was still alive, still with her, and she would never have been able to move on. Not that she'd moved on all that well. Sure, she'd dated other men, even had a few serious relationships, but they always ended the same way, badly. In fact, she'd wondered just what it was that made her so attracted to Billy. She was always a bit forward with men she liked, but Billy was different. It was too easy to talk to him, to flirt with him. It wasn't normal. Earth men were just too stubborn, and disrespectful, and aggressive. Or maybe it was just her.

_Jayden, please come_.

Nothing happened.

She closed her eyes tight and tried to remember. Remember the way he looked at her, the way it felt when he kissed her softly. His gentle touch on her skin when he pulled her close and told her he loved her. It had only been ten years, that wasn't so long. She knew the words, the details were etched in her memory forever, but she couldn't see it. Every time she pictured him in front of her, pictured him kissing her, holding her it wasn't his face she saw, it was Billy's.

And that was the real reason she was here. From the moment she'd first seen Billy he'd been nearly all she could think about. When she'd re-entered the store, after showing him the car, she'd expected to forget him, and possibly never see him again, despite her invitation to show her his achievements with his own car. But she didn't forget him. She was still thinking about him, about what his connection to magic and power could be, when suddenly he was there again, asking her if she'd like to come to his house and see the car for herself. And she had been so flustered and surprised she'd said yes without thinking. When he wrote his address and phone number on a sheet of paper for her she felt like she was in a daze.

All morning she'd been debating whether or not to actually show up. Her logical mind said it was a bad idea, he was a magic warrior, there was no telling what she could be exposing herself to. Suppose he was some evil force that had somehow discovered her presence and was tricking her.

But I would have seen that, she argued. That is my power after all.

But something still told her to be cautious, and now she knew why. He was too young, by more than one standard. Her legal age here was twenty-one, almost four years older than him. But she wasn't twenty-one, she older, a lot older. Tanzetti lived long lives, and Calydne people lived long compared to humans. Because of that, age wasn't as much of a factor in relationships as it was here. Jaden had been nearly ten years older than her, and it had made no difference.

But here it was different, and she knew it. The problem was, why didn't she see it. When she'd touched him she'd seen wisdom, and maturity, and that led her to believe him much older.

_So what do I do now?_ she asked the spirit of the white crystal. _She reached out for Jaden once more. What do I do about him?_

Nothing happened. She felt nothing from the magic stone, no presence at all.

_Please_, she begged with her mind. _Just this once, please come_.

Then, somewhere distant, an answer came, not in a voice exactly, but there was a feeling, a deep reaching magic and a final answer.

_No_.

"No!" she screamed out loud. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

She fell to her knees in front of the white crystal. "Why?!"

She was crying now, supporting herself on her hands and knees, the tears flowing freely. "What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?"

The cave answered her with silence. But there was something else there, something inside her that rose out when the tears and the screams were gone. It wasn't an answer, but it was a revelation.


	6. Reckoning

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Marcy dropped the heavy box of books on the floor between the shelves. Henry, the illustrious manager had just scored a plethora of science fiction novels from some dim-witted empty-nest mother who had taken the initiative of redecorating after her son moved away to college. It was kind of sad really, the selection was exquisite. Classics galore, all in prime condition and guaranteed to be missed by college boy when he returned home for spring break. She took a handful of books and started scanning the shelves looking for the alphabetical place they would call home at least until she could afford to buy them.

"Marcy?"

She jumped at the voice and dropped the books in her hand. Her feet backed into the box and she felt herself go down. A firm hand clamped around her wrist and pulled her back on her feet, simultaneously sending a rush of energy through her body that would have flattened her again if she wasn't being held steadily in place.

She felt herself pivot and landed with her back against the bookshelf, Billy Cranston's deep blue eyes the only thing she could see, and the heat and power of his hand on her wrist the only sensation she was aware of.

He let her go quickly, guilt marring his sharp square face.

"I'm sorry," he said, backing away as much as possible in the narrow aisle. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," she breathed. She could still feel the warmth of his hand on her wrist, and compared to it, the rest of her body felt cold.

"I'm sorry about Saturday too," he continued. "I didn't know Tommy was going to show up."

She shook her head. "It's fine. You didn't need to come all the way out here to tell me that."

"I tried to call you," he said, his eyes peaking up at her from under his long lashes. He was afraid to look at her, she realized. But was it fear of retribution, or attraction?

"I've been busy." It was a lie and they both knew it, but she said it anyway. She'd ignored his calls all weekend, refused to pick up the phone. He'd called the store twice as well, and she'd always found something else to be doing when Mike or Henry told her she had a phone call.

"You're a really bad liar," he stated suddenly.

That took her aback. She hadn't expected him to confront her, not when he could barely stand to look at her without blushing.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

He stood up a little straighter, his small victory over her giving him more confidence. "Whatever I did-"

"You didn't do anything, Billy." She leaned back against the bookshelf. She really didn't want to have this conversation. She'd hoped that after a few days of not being able to reach her, he'd give up and write her off as tease and move on. But instead he was standing in front of her, demanding an explanation, challenging her to escape him again. He'd sought her out instead of dismissing her. Perhaps he was a warrior after all.

"Then what's the problem?" he asked.

"You're seventeen."

"So?"

"I'm twenty-one."

Realization washed over his face. He shifted his weight and tried to take a step backwards and was stopped by a bookshelf full of romance novels.

"I'm twenty-one," she repeated. "I go to Angel Grove University."

"And I just assumed…" he started, but his voice faded out and he didn't finish the thought.

"I should have been more specific," she said. "I'm sorry."

"I turn eighteen next month," he said. "Twenty seven days to be exact."

She pinched her lips together to keep from laughing. He was trying to charm her, and it was working. "It doesn't matter," she said.

"Why?"

He was standing straighter, that determined look in his eye. He really was a warrior at heart.

"You're kidding right?" What was he getting at? He was challenging something he wasn't prepared to face. "It would be completely inappropriate, not to mention illegal." Only barely, it was unlikely anyone would press charges, even if his birthday wasn't so close.

"Only for the next three point eight five weeks."

Marcy started at that. "Excuse me?"

"Three point eight five weeks," he said. "Approximately."

This time she couldn't help but laugh. He was not only a warrior, but a genius, she reminded herself, and evil genius at that.

Her laughter seemed to break the tension and he relaxed a little. "So we can at least be friends?" he asked cautiously.

She took a deep breath, preparing for the words she didn't want to say. "No, Billy, we can't be friends."

"Why not?"

There were a million reasons she could make up, a million excuses she could plausibly create, but he'd already shown a talent for seeing through her lies. The only thing left was the truth.

"Because every time I see you all I can think about, is how much I want you to kiss me."

She expected her words to shock him. She expected him to blush the way he had when she'd approached him in the garage. She thought perhaps it would even intimidate him enough to make him want to run.

What she didn't expect was for him to cross the space between them in one step and cup her face in his hands. Before she could move his mouth was on hers and a rush of emotion flooded over her. Not only wasn't he scared of her, he had no intention of letting her go easily.

The abruptness of his actions and the rush of his emotions overpowered her better judgment and instead of pushing him away, as she knew she should, she instead found herself wrapping her hands around his waist, pulling him closer. She knew from that moment on, she was at his mercy.

He broke the kiss slowly, still holding her face in his hands. She didn't realize it until that moment but she had a grip on the back of his shirt that could easily tear it apart.

"I must be absolutely, undeniably crazy," she whispered.

"We both are," he replied.

"I guess you're an evil genius after all."

He just smiled at that and leaned in to kiss her again.


	7. Lies, Spies, and Kickboxing

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Tommy sighed in relief as the last of his students left the Youth Center. It had been a hard week. Nearly every class at school had a major test, he had had three papers to turn in, and Rita and Zedd seemed to be on a creative streak because he couldn't remember the last time he'd had more than twenty-four hours between attacks. He was looking forward to a relaxing evening at the movies with his friends.

He stumbled up the stairs and collapsed in a chair next to Kimberly.

She made an exaggerated frowny face and pushed a stray lock of hair away from his forehead. "You look exhausted."

"It's been a rough week," he said.

"Maybe we should skip the movie," she said. "Billy's already not coming and if you're not up to it-"

Tommy's head shot up. This was the third time Billy had canceled going out with the group. "Billy's not coming?"

Kim shook her head. "He called me this morning and said he had something come up."

"He's been saying that all week," Rocky said. "Come to think of it, he's been acting strange for awhile, hasn't he."

A chorus of agreement went around the table. Tommy felt a knot in his stomach. Billy had assured him more than once that nothing was wrong and the whole garage incident wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for what happened on Saturday. Neither of them had mentioned it to the others, but he was starting to wonder if maybe he should.

"Yeah," he said. "He has been acting strange, and I think I know why."

Kimberly stiffened in her chair. "What? What's wrong?"

"I think Billy has a new girlfriend." He explained what had happened on that Saturday two weeks ago.

Rocky was elated. "Are you serious?" he burst out. "Billy scored with the Cadillac Girl?"

Aisha turned to Rocky in amazement. "You knew about this?"

"Yeah," Rocky said. "He met her at that bookstore two weeks ago." He proceeded to give a brief explanation of how the woman had come outside to show off her restored Cadillac and been very open with Billy.

"She was riding a motorcycle," Tommy said.

"She's got a motorcycle too?" Rocky sank back in his chair and let out an exasperated sigh. "Wow, I never thought I'd be jealous of Billy."

"Yeah, well, I think I ruined it," Tommy said. "He's been avoiding me for two weeks."

Kimberly put an arm on his shoulder. "No, Tommy, it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," said Adam, "He's been avoiding all of us. For all we know he's out on a date with her tonight."

Tommy thought about that. Adam had a point. Billy had been avoiding nearly all activity with everyone lately, was it possible his absence was merely him devoting all his time to patching things up with this girl? Billy wasn't the kind to hold a grudge. Whatever his plans for this evening were, there was very little chance it was because of him.

"Yeah, maybe your right. Billy wouldn't hold a grudge like that."

"Billy?" a sharp voice from across the room said. Tommy looked over and saw Bulk and Skull sauntering their way.

"My condolences," Bulk said. "I heard all about Billy going out and getting himself a new posse. You guys must be serious losers to get dumped by the King Geek himself."

"What are you guys talking about?" Aisha said.

"Billy," Skull said in his high pitched squeal. "We saw him with his new gang last night."

"New gang?" said Adam.

Bulk twitched and waved his arms to make a point. "Yeah, we've been working security at the Stone Canyon sports arena for the district kickboxing tournament. Billy came in last night with a team of boxers."

"No way," Adam said. "Are you sure it was Billy?"

"Absolutely," Bulk said, his eyes going dark in a sad attempt at seriousness. "As Junior Police officers our detective senses are far superior to you mortal citizens."

"Yeah," said Skull. "Plus, he recognized us."

"Guess he was tired of living in the slow lane with you dweebs," Bulk said. "Well, we're off to make our city a little bit safer."

The pair bumbled off to the exit, but Tommy just sat in a daze.

"Do you think it's true?" Adam asked.

Tommy shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think Bulk and Skull would lie but, boxing? Billy?"

"Well, there is one way to find out," Rocky said. "You guys want to go to a boxing match?"

Everyone hit their feet at once. "I'll drive," said Kimberly.

The sports center was crowded for the final night of boxing. The Ladies' competition was first and had already started when they arrived. They wandered the bleachers looking for a bench with enough room for all five of them. When they finally found one it was so high up Tommy was worried they wouldn't be able to see.

"Guys look!" Rocky shouted as they took their seats. He was holding a program to the event and pointing to a name on the list of competitors. "Marcy Tannon! That's the name of the girl from the book store. She's competing tonight. I think she's up next."

Sure enough, as soon as the current round was over the next match was announced and Marcy Tannon was one of the competitors. She marched out wearing the traditional silk robe, all black but with a deep purple stripe at the seam. Four men walked behind her and took seats on a small wooden bench reserved for team members; Billy was the third one from the end. All four of the men were wearing black wind suits with a dark purple stripe that went down each sleeve and the side of each leg.

"I see him," Kimberly burst out, pointing toward the bench. Tommy was suddenly very glad they had such poor seats. There was little chance Billy would spot them from here.

Marcy was talking with the fourth man next to the corner of the ring, Billy just sat waiting. When the announcer called for the next competitors Marcy threw off the robe and tossed it to the first man. Billy immediately shot out of his seat and took it, folding it carefully before setting in on the bench next to him.

"So what, he's like part of her crew?" Rocky mused.

Tommy just shook his head. "I don't know, man."

The fight started then. Marcy was fierce, but so was her competitor. They went two rounds without even coming close to knocking the other one out. The Rangers just sat in the stands watching their friend and the mysterious woman he'd suddenly abandoned them all for, waiting to see what would happen.

By the end of the third round both women were looking exhausted and a little worse for wear. Marcy had gotten pinned against the ropes twice in the last round and her face was red and blotchy from the bruising she had taken. When she came to the corner of the ring Billy jumped out of his seat and climbed up on the platform. He said something to Marcy and she shook her head. He spoke again, waving his arms in emphasis and Marcy took a look across the ring at her opponent. She looked back at Billy and they exchanged a few more words then he jumped off the platform and went back to his seat.

The bell rang and the competitors took the ring again. Marcy was different now. She was quicker on the block and seemed to anticipate the opponent's moves better. This frustrated her opponent, a tall blonde with platinum blonde hair braided tight down her back.

But whatever strategy Billy had suggested, it did the trick. Marcy broke through the other woman's defenses and knocked her out with two minutes to spare, to the delight of the roaring crowd.

Tommy saw Billy step forward to catch Marcy when she climbed out of the ring. Then the crowd pressed in and he couldn't see them anymore.

They sat in Kimberly's car for several minutes before they spotted Billy. Rocky spotted Marcy's pink Cadillac in the parking lot and they found a parking spot nearby where they could all see. There were two men in team uniforms standing by the car when they got there. A few minutes later Billy came out carrying a gym bag. The other men greeted him with cheers and high fives and he used a key to put the bag in the car.

For several seconds they just stood around, joking and laughing and passing around a small bottle of red liquid that Tommy was fairly certain wasn't juice. But Billy didn't seem disturbed and sipped at the liquid when it was passed to him without even flinching.

Then, there was a shout and the men looked over and saw Marcy coming out of the building. There was more shouting as they circled around the champion. Billy scooped Marcy up into his arms and spun her around, then set her on the car trunk. She pulled him into a hard kiss that caused the shouting of the others to rise.

"Whoa," said Rocky, from the backseat. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah," Adam replied. "Billy's got game. Who knew?"

Aisha let out a long sigh. "You guys are so immature."

Kimberly shifted in her seat next to Tommy. "I don't know, Tommy," she said. "This doesn't feel right, spying on Billy like this."

Tommy looked over at the group surrounding his friend. There were more people gathered around the car now, all shouting congratulations to Marcy for winning the fight. They didn't look like the type of crowd he'd expect Billy to be with. They were rowdy and rude, and obnoxious, and yet there was Billy, in the middle of it, laughing talking next to Marcy like nothing in the world thrilled him more.

"Maybe you're right," Tommy said. "It's just… Hey, where are they going?"

The crowd that had gathered around the Cadillac was now moving. They walked as one across the street and Tommy noticed for the first time a small diner set back from the road. The group disappeared inside the diner, taking Billy with them.

"So what do we do now?" Rocky asked from the back seat and Tommy could feel hear four bodies shift around him, and four pairs of eyes set their gaze on him. He was the leader after all, whatever decision he made, they would follow it, the same as they did in battle. Everything deferred to him, apparently even the privacy of the Blue Ranger.

"You guys hungry?"


	8. Matter of Trust

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

The team had just declared a toast to Marcy for her victory at the match when Billy saw them. They stumbled through the diner door, laughing and talking, as if it were purely by accident. Tommy even made a grand gesture of jumping and doing a double take when he looked over, but his look of confusion and surprise was too forced, and the reaction of the others to over-convincing. They weren't here by coincidence.

"I don't believe it," Billy said out loud.

Marcy shot him a confused look, the followed his gaze and the sharp breath she took in told him she understood. They were tucked together in the center of a corner booth, friends and teammates of Marcy's on either side.

"Your friends," she said evenly.

"Some friends," Billy muttered back. They were pilling around a table on the other end of the diner, pretending to ignore him, pretending they'd just come in for dinner after a fun-filled night and had no intention of disturbing him.

"It could be a coincidence," Marcy said.

Billy shook his head. "No," he said. "They found out somehow."

He felt Marcy's hand go over his, a gesture of support and comfort, but he couldn't take his eyes off his friends. They were quiet now, sitting around the table, talking at intervals as they studied the menu. Every once in awhile one of them would risk a glance in his direction, which he firmly pretended not to notice.

But he couldn't let it go. He couldn't sit here all night with them right there, seeing his every move. It wasn't fair. How could they have done this? They were his friends, he'd known them forever. He'd saved their lives countless times and they'd saved his even more, and yet, the one time he just wanted to explore a life outside their little clan, outside the world of Tengas and monsters and evil bent on world domination, here they were, following him like a curse.

"What do you want to do?" Marcy asked.

Billy felt himself sigh. There wasn't much he could do, and no matter what he did he knew he would eventually end with him forgiving them. He would have to, for the sake of the team, but for now he didn't want to think of that. Now, he was angry, and he wanted to be angry.

"I'll be right back," he said and excused himself from the booth.

They didn't turn when he approached, but Tommy looked up, feigned surprise in his eyes.

"Hey, Billy!" he said with a smile that just made it more tempting to slap him.

"Are you guys following me?" he demanded.

He was looking at Tommy, but the others immediately stiffened at the question.

"No, man, of course not. We just got out of the movies."

"Yeah, the movies," Rocky said, but his voice was dull.

Billy crossed his arms in front of him. Were they actually going to try and lie to him? What kind of friends did he have? "Really?" he said. "What movie?"

A chorus of ramblings went around the table as each person said something different. Billy just stood there, one eyebrow cocked as he gazed at each one of his so-called friends. Finally Tommy sighed in defeat.

"Fine," he admitted. "Bulk and Skull said you were at the boxing match and we were worried and we came down here to see you. They said you were fighting."

"And since when do you listen to Bulk and Skull?"

Kimberly reached out to touch Billy on the arm, but he took a step back so she couldn't reach. "I can't believe you guys did this. You don't trust me at all. Just because I'm a…your friend," he bit on the words Power Ranger but the statement was clear anyhow, "I'm not allowed to have friends of my own."

Tommy got to his feet then, the guilt on his face apparent. "No, Billy, it's not like that."

"Of course it is," he said his voice echoing through the small diner. He steadied himself so he wouldn't shout again but kept his voice firm all the same. "It's always been like that, just the six of us, never anyone else."

"Billy…"

But he was already done, overcome with anger and he knew if he kept going he'd just shout at Tommy again. So instead he turned and charged from the diner.

Tommy just sat in silence when Billy left. This had been a mistake. He never intended to lose Billy's trust. He'd convinced himself he was helping, keeping an eye out for his friend and fellow Ranger. But Billy was right, they'd violated his trust by spying on him.

"I'll go talk to him," Kimberly said.

"No, I'll go," Tommy said. "This is my fault." _I'm the leader_, he thought. _It was my responsibility and my decision. I screwed it up, I have to fix it. _

He stood up and Kim stood up with him. "I'm going with you."

Her tone was hard and he knew better than to argue with her. In a lot of ways she had more right than he did to take the lead on this. She'd know Billy longer than any of them. They'd lived on the same street for all their lives. Not to mention they were both experienced Power Rangers long before he took the powers himself. Either one of them could have stepped up and objected when he took position as leader when Jason left. But just because they didn't wasn't any reason for him to disregard their seniority.

So instead of objecting Tommy simply gestured for the door and followed Kimberly out. When they came out on the sidewalk there was no one there, but Tommy had watched through the window and seen Billy turn to the left before disappearing to he started walking that way and Kimberly followed. To the side of the diner was a small alleyway and when they reached it they heard voices and Tommy saw Billy leaning against the wall, and Marcy standing in front of him, one hand pushing against the wall by Billy's head. He hadn't even noticed her leave the diner.

"It's up to you, Billy," she was saying softly. "You can go back in there and talk to your friends, or I can take you home."

"Billy?"

It was Kimberly that spoke, her voice was soft, but the suddenness of it made both of them jump. Marcy stepped back as Kimberly approached, clearly sending the message, _I'm not going to get in the middle of this. _

"Billy," Kim said again. "I'm so sorry about all this. It was totally inappropriate and…we should have trusted that you wouldn't be friends with people that…that… I'm sorry."

"Yeah, man," Tommy said stepping forward. "We've all been friends so long we forgot that sometimes we need to spend time outside the group."

"We're really sorry," Kim said again. She took another step forward, putting herself only inches from Billy. He was staring at the wall opposite him in the alley. "Please, Billy, will you forgive us?"

Billy dropped his head and took in a deep breath. "Yeah, all right."

Overjoyed, Kimberly threw her arms around Billy's neck. "Oh, thank you, thank you. I knew you couldn't stay mad at us."

Billy looked over Kim's shoulder to Tommy. There was a hard look in his eyes, a warning look that said _don't let this happen again_. "No, I guess I can't," he said. Tommy nodded, message received.

When Kim stepped back from Billy he introduced her to Marcy. She shook Kim's hand with a smile and said hello to Tommy as well. Then they all went back into the restaurant together. The rest of the gang was waiting at their table, and they stood up when they saw the two couples crossing to meet them. Tommy stepped back while Billy went around the table with introductions. Then Marcy stepped up and invited them to move to a table closer to her friends.

Once the tables were arranged and some shuffling done, it was actually a good time. Marcy was funny and smart and tried very hard to follow everyone who was talking, especially when it was one of Billy's friends.

When the waitress came over she greeted Marcy by name and asked about the boxing match.

"Took her in four rounds," Marcy said. "You're looking at the future state champ."

The waitress smiled. "That's great," she said. "You'll be wanting the boxer's special then?"

"Absolutely," Marcy said. "I've been craving those strawberries all day."

"What's the Boxer's Special?" Rocky asked.

"Three pancakes with strawberries and ice cream," the waitress answered.

"Are you kidding?" Rocky said. "Can I get one of those too?"

Despite being half the size of Rocky, Marcy not only finished her pancakes first she also ate half of Billy's fries, stealing them off his plate one at a time and dipping them in the ice cream before eating them.

Most of the others, especially Kimberly, were interested in Marcy. Peppering her and her friends with questions about anything and everything they could think of that would make interesting conversation. Kim even invited Marcy to come shopping with her and Aisha after school one day, which Marcy hesitantly accepted, more to be polite than anything.

But Tommy kept his eye on Billy the whole time. Billy didn't say much, only offering comments and supplements to whatever story was being told at the moment. But Tommy noticed a difference that he wasn't sure the others picked up on. He watched Marcy almost constantly. There was a connection between them that was almost palpable. Every little smile, every offhand comment had a meaning that was known only to them. And it was in the little ways she would touch him, running a finger across his temple to brush a stray hair out of the way, or the way her hand would brush his when she was talking. And the way he would purposely look away when she stole food off his plate or made some joke meant to tease him.

And then Tommy realized: Billy was happy. Strange as this new woman was, he'd found some connection with her that was beyond understanding. On the surface she seemed completely opposite him. From the first moment he'd met Marcy, that day at his garage, he'd wondered what it was that Billy saw in her, and what she saw in him. She was smarter than average for sure, but nowhere near Billy standards. She didn't have a penchant for computers or science the way he did, although he gathered from their conversations about the Rad Bug that car mechanics was a middle ground where her skills threatened to surpass his.

Well, maybe that's enough, Tommy thought to himself. Lord knew he and Kim weren't perfectly aligned on everything. But he didn't like to think that they were quite this opposite. Still, if Billy was happy, that was what was important. If it ended badly, well, then he and the other Rangers would be there, like always.

"How long have you been kickboxing?" Tommy asked at a lull in the conversation.

"Oh, about four or five years now," Marcy said. "This is my second year to go to state. What type of martial arts do you do?"

"I know at least ten styles," he answered. "I mostly teach Judo right now."

"I was a black belt in Judo and Ishun Ru," she said. "I studied in L.A."

"You lived in L.A.?" That comment came from Rocky, who was still mulling over his Boxer's Special.

"Is that where you grew up?" Tommy asked.

A strange smile came over Marcy's face. "More or less."

Something about her eyes said it was less, but he didn't press the issue at the moment.

"You should work out with us at the Youth Center sometime," he said. "Show us some of your moves."

Marcy shook her head. "It's been years since I've practiced. I'd most likely take your head off."

Tommy leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah," Rocky said through a mouthful of strawberries. "We can take you."

She looked over at Rocky and then back to Tommy. "I think it would take both of you."


	9. Birthday Boy

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Marcy answered the door right away when Billy knocked on Saturday morning. She was in a magenta running suit with a black tank top underneath that said "Pro Boxer." She'd been surprised when he called her last night and said he wanted to go running with her in the morning. But when she saw he was dressed in a button down suit shirt and kakis and holding a single long stem rose, surprise was an understatement.

"What's this?" she said. "You're supposed to get receiving gifts, not giving them."

Billy shrugged. "I just wanted to."

Marcy took the rose from his hand and put her arms around his shoulders kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

She stepped back into the apartment and he followed her in and waited while she put the rose in water.

"Are you sure you want to go running today?" she said. His outfit made it obvious he had other plans but she asked anyway. "It's your birthday after all, surely there's something more fun out there."

"If I asked you to go somewhere else with me, would you do it?"

Marcy just shrugged. "Sure.

She followed him to the car, and slid inside when he opened the door. On the backseat she saw a large picnic basket and a quilt. She asked where they were going, but he just smiled and said it was a surprise.

Ten minutes later they were parked in a lot at the far end of Angel Grove Park near the lake. The parking lot was empty as was the park surrounding it. Marcy wasn't very familiar with the layout of the park because she didn't go there much, so she had no idea where they were.

"I hope you don't mind taking a little walk," he said.

She shook her head. She'd changed her clothes quickly before they left, pulling on a brown sundress with strappy sleeves and a thin chenille sweater on top. Billy hefted the picnic basket out the backseat and started walking towards the lake. Marcy followed as he led her around the perimeter of the lake. They walked for a long time. Billy didn't speak, just kept his eyes on the path that led around the lake.

They walked along the path until they reached a large rock formation on the far end of the lake. The parking lot was gone from sight and most of the area was surrounded by trees. Billy stepped from the path and started toward the rocks. Marcy followed him, glad she had opted for sandals instead of the her new brown pumps she had been eyeing for this dress. Billy seemed to know where he was going however and even stopped and took her hand to help her over larger rocks. Finally they came to an open area that looked out over the lake. Billy set the basket down and spread the blanket on the smooth stone.

"This is beautiful," Marcy said looking out over the water. "How did you find this place?"

Billy smiled. "I've been coming here since I was a kid. I don't really remember how I found it."

He opened the basket and started pulling out food items. He had bagels and cream cheese, fresh fruit, orange juice and coffee. They ate sitting next to each other on the blanket not talking about much, just enjoying each other's company and the perfect view of the sun coming up over the water.

"Are your other friends coming?" Marcy asked.

"Negative," he said. "It's just us this morning."

"You could have invited the others," she said. He was always spending time with her, she knew he didn't see his friends much lately, and she didn't like that. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with him, but she didn't want to stop him from being with his friends.

"I wanted it to be just us," he said.

"You don't have to leave your friends out with me you know," she said.

"I know," Billy replied. "I'm meeting them this afternoon, plus the party. I just wanted some time with you."

Marcy down at her half-eaten bagel. "I wish I didn't have to work today."

Billy reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Me too," he said softly. "But you'll be there tonight."

"Of course I will," she said.

"And you're here now," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes," she whispered back.

He leaned in slowly and their lips met in a soft kiss.

Billy jumped when he heard the knocking at the door. He was surprised by the reaction because he'd been pacing in front of it for nearly an hour, in anticipation.

It had been a nearly perfect birthday. Breakfast in the park with Marcy, then lunch with the Rangers. Rita and Zedd of course, hadn't passed on the chance to wish him a happy birthday with a new monster, but they'd taken care of that with plenty of time to get ready for the party.

Marcy had offered to come pick him up and he'd agreed even thought the Rad Bug was running perfectly. For some reason the idea of having a few extra moments alone in the car seemed important.

He took hold of the handle and pulled the door open slowly. Marcy was standing there, but he had to blink a few times to realize it was really her. She was beautiful. Her dress was blue satin that hugged her body tight and fell off her hips in waves ending just below the knee.

"What do you think?" she asked.

He swallowed hard, most of his concentration going toward fighting off the sudden wave of heat that rushed through his body at the sight of her. Her hair had been curled and pinned so that it fell around her face is long blonde waves.  
"If you see something you don't like, you have to take it up with Kimberly," she said. "This was all her doing. I've been sitting in her living room for the last two hours. If I never see a curling iron again it'll be too soon."

He laughed at that. "You look beautiful."

She smiled. "You ready to go?"

He nodded. He'd been ready for hour. Her Caddy was parked on the street in front of the house and she headed for it, keys in her hand, but when the reached the street she turned and held them out.

"You want to drive?"

"You're going to let me drive the Cadillac."

Her eyes narrowed mischievously. "I think I can trust you."

He took the keys and opened the door for her then went around the other side. He settled into the driver's seat and the glare of the streetlight caught his eye and he looked over and saw it shining down, reflecting off Marcy's dress. The skirt had fallen back a bit when she'd sat down, revealing most of her thighs, which glowed almost white under the fluorescent lamp. He could see the perfectly toned muscles of her legs perfectly smoothed, and sculpted so you could practically see where each individual muscle ran under the skin. He imagined tracing each line with his fingers, feeling them flex under his hands as he-

"Billy, are you okay?"

He shook his head from the fantasy. "I'm fine." He started the car quickly and pulled away from the curb.

Ten minutes later they were at the Youth Center. All his friends were already there waiting and within seconds he was ten deep in well wishers and congratulations from everyone. Kimberly had gone all out on the decorations and food, there was even a DJ playing some of his favorite songs, even though the vast majority of them were not in main stream popularity at the moment…or ever.

Marcy stayed at his side all night while they danced and talked. Then Ernie brought out a huge cake, which unlike a few other birthday parties, made it to the table without ending up on Bulk and Skull.

They ate and he opened his presents, Marcy sitting off to the side of the table smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. He wasn't sure what this meant until he reached the bottom of the small pile and realized she hadn't gotten him a present.

It's not that big a deal, he told himself. We've only been together a month.

But so much had happened in the past month. Everything felt different now. He'd felt it from the moment he'd woken up this morning. Today would make everything different. Things with Marcy would be okay now. But seeing the way she looked over the table at him made him doubt everything he'd been anticipating since that moment in the bookstore when he'd refused to leave simply because she was older then he was.

He finished opening presents and thanked everyone, and the party started to wind down a little. Dancing started again, but Billy just sat there, sipping Ernie's homemade punch and watching his friends.

He saw Marcy move out of the corner of his eye and felt her arm around his shoulder.

"Hey there, Birthday boy," she said. She brushed his cheek with the back of her fingers affectionately. "Did you get everything you wanted."

He shrugged. "I guess so."

Tommy, Rocky and Adam had pitched in together and gotten a new computer module he'd been wanting. He was shocked they remembered the right one because he'd only mentioned it a few times and it had to be ordered from a specialty store. Aisha had gotten him a book on computer mechanics. He was fairly certain she'd walked into a bookstore and selected a science book at random, but hey, at least she tried. Kim, having no mind for computers or science at all, had gone another way and gotten him a very nice shirt from her favorite store at the mall. Normally getting clothes was insulting, but when they came from Kim it was quite the opposite. She put a lot of thought into buying clothes for others and always managed to pick something that suited the person perfectly. The last few years she'd played a very large role in his wardrobe choices, so a nice shirt from her was a massive compliment.

"They're your friends," she said. "You're very lucky."

Billy nodded and sat back in hid chair. But he felt Marcy shift and thread her arm through his. "Come on," she said. "I wanna dance with the birthday boy."

He led her to the dance floor where people had paired off for a slow dance. She slid her arms around his neck without hesitating and he pulled her in by the waist, moving slowly to the music. They were cheek to cheek and his eyes were closed, just feeling her presence there in his arms. It was comfortable. He realized, they were comfortable together, they always had been. It was easy for him to talk to her, to tell her things even when he sounded like he came from another planet. And she understood, that was the important part. When he would start babbling about computer code or lapse into using four syllable terms for everyday objects it didn't bother her. In fact she seemed to relish in it.

It occurred to him that that was gift enough. She'd come into his life randomly, but from that first moment they'd both known they had a connection. Over the last few weeks they'd been exploring just how far that connection went. For some reason he thought this day would be the end of the journey, but now, looking back, he realized it was only the beginning. There were a million new things yet to explore and work out together. He hadn't even told his friends the truth about her age yet. He had originally planed to do it sometime tonight, but now, holding her there on the dance floor as if it were just the two of them, he decided it was an adventure better left for another day.

"I didn't get you a present," she said softly, as if she could hear his thoughts.

"It's okay," he said automatically. "You didn't have to-"

She moved back a little, but only enough to look him in the eye without breaking their embrace. "No, I do have something for you, but…it's not something you can wrap in a box."

"What?"

She took a deep breath. They were no longer moving to the music, but standing there, holding each other in the dim light. "Okay, I've been working on this in my head all week so just listen and don't say anything or I might not be able to get through it."

Billy nodded, a small lump forming in his stomach, but he wasn't sure if it was from fear or anticipation.

Marcy took another deep breath. "When you walked into the bookstore that day, I knew something was different about you. I don't get attracted to people onsite. It just doesn't happen to me. But you, it was like a switch went off in my head and everything changed. When I found out you were still in high school, it scared me, because I did like you, a lot, and I thought I wouldn't get another chance like that. But then there you were again, and no matter what I did you didn't walk away.

"I've been hanging on to this belief that today would change things, and there are things that will change, but there's other things that won't. Just because you're eighteen now isn't going to make everything perfect, but the funny thing is, I don't care. I don't care what problems it causes, and what sacrifices I have to make, as long as I make them with you.

"Because I am absolutely, irrevocably, undeniably in love with you. I don't care what the consequences are, I don't care if you don't feel the same way. I love you and that's not going to change."

She paused then and Billy waited, her sharp eyes looking into his, softened by the dim light of the dance floor.

When she didn't say anything for several seconds Billy asked, "Are you done?"

"Yes."

He nodded then pulled her in tight and kissed her hard. She kissed him back, her arms wrapping tighter around his neck. He felt her tongue touch his and for a moment he completely forgot where he was and that he was and that he was surrounded by his friends and family and it wasn't until she pulled away gently that he realized the music had stopped. He knew if he looked around all eyes would be on him, and everyone would be watching what happened next, but he didn't look. The only thing he saw was Marcy's face, inches from his.

"I love you, too."


	10. Warrior's Virtue

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

_Punch, kick, block, block, swing, duck, punch_…

_Damn these boys are good_, Marcy thought.

She'd insisted on taking on both Rocky and Tommy at the same time and she was starting to question the sanity of that choice. Rocky, she could handle, he was aggressive, but not as calculating as should be expected of someone of his skills. Tommy was frightening. She'd fought him alone and thought it wasn't easy. But she's still beaten him and decided she needed more of a challenge. Now she was in over her head.

Tommy was smart, and decisive, and with Rocky's raw power as a distraction she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up. They'd gotten her on the floor twice already and it was only her warrior instincts that had saved her from annihilation.

But they had her again, one on each arm and she was trapped. She had a decision to make and only a split second to make it. If she took Tommy down first it would give Rocky the momentum he needed to swing her out and take her down. But Tommy would be quicker on the uptake, already anticipating her moves. He was the stronger opponent and she needed the time to react to him.

She took Rocky first, a low swing with her leg behind the knee. He tried to keep his grip on her arm, but she twisted away, using the momentum of his fall to break away. Then she turned her attention to Tommy. Tommy was a decisive fighter. Where Rocky would have used his larger size and strength to simply toss her around, Tommy would try to turn her advantage of speed and better flexibility against her by trapping her into a move she couldn't get out of.

He still had an iron grip on her arm and she went for his face first, but it was a feint and she tried to twist away when he ducked. It didn't work and he was using he grip to spin her to pin her against his chest. She'd anticipated this and was ready to dig her elbow into the weak spot just below his rib cage, using the momentum he created to drive the force of the blow. He doubled over and a second twist freed her from his grasp. She stepped back to regain her balance, then came around with a spin kick just as Tommy got his breath back, but she overreached, moving too fast before he's recovered. He didn't and she connected with the side of his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Tommy!"

Kimberly and Billy had been at the juice bar watching and Marcy now saw Tommy's girlfriend rushing across the room followed closely by her evil genius.

Rocky was at Tommy's side and Marcy knelt down next him.  
"I'm so sorry," she said. "I got carried away. Are you alright?"

Tommy was sitting up with the aid of Rocky, a red bruise flowering on his cheek. "I'll be okay."

Marcy hooked an arm under one of Tommy's and Rocky took the other and they pulled him to his feet and walked him to a table. Ernie appeared with an ice pack and asked Tommy if he needed anything else. But Tommy waved him away, declaring he was fine no matter who protested.

"I'm sorry," Marcy said taking a seat next to Tommy. Kim took up a chair on the other side and started rubbing Tommy's shoulder in a soothing gesture. "I'm fighting in a ring. Don't stop until the bell rings."

The rest of the gang settled around the table, Billy next to Marcy, Rocky next to him, and Adam and Aisha, who'd been sparing in another part of the gym but had come over when Tommy fell squeezed in across the table.

Tommy shook his head. "It's fine. It happens. At least you didn't break anything."

Marcy smiled and an idea occurred to her. "I'll make it up to you."

She took Tommy's left hand, which had been resting on the table, the other hand busy holding the ice pack to his rapidly swelling cheek. She held the hand palm up and narrowed her eyes at it feeling the rush of power that came from contact with the leader of this strange team.

"You read palms now too?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Billy said from her other side. "She did it to me too. It's a total scam though. She didn't say anything I hadn't already told her."

"That's because you talk too much," Marcy chided. It was true, she hadn't revealed much when she'd done this to Billy, combining a novelty earth talent with a skill of her own people. But she'd learned a lot more than she thought possible.

And now, holding Tommy's hand she could see more about him as well. Her gift of empathy needed only a small contact to know surface emotions and thoughts, but a deeper understanding came from a more prolonged touch, given of course that the subject was open to her in the first place.

Tommy wasn't as open as Billy had been. Tommy was a naturally reserved person, and he wasn't acquainted with her on the intimate level Billy was, so she knew her discoveries would be limited, but they were no less fascinating. The first thing she noticed must have appeared on her face because he spoke up.

"What do you see?"

"You're aura is multicolored." It was true. While the others had only one color attached to their presence, Tommy had four, and they were not in spectral order, which was even more unusual. "I see four colors, green white, red, and black."

"What does that mean?"

Marcy shook her head. "I'm not sure. It's possible for an aura color to change as you grow older, and occasionally you'll find someone with two or three colors, but four, and in that order…" She shook her head again. "It could be that you're in some kind of flux, like your inner spirit is divided somehow. You're power comes from multiple sources."

A sharp inhale went up around the table and she saw everyone stiffen just slightly. Her use of the word power instead of spirit or strength had set off an alarm. But this confirmed her suspicions. The colors were attached to their powers, and from the vibes she was getting from Tommy, he knew the source of the first two colors she'd named.

"I wonder what that means," Tommy said casually, but his voice was strained. She'd touched a nerve and she knew it. She needed to give some comfort, something that would seem like it was in a different direction and ease the tension a little bit.

"Probably that your meant to play multiple roles in your life," she said. "Some people are meant to be leaders, others followers, but many can be both."

She looked down at his palm again. "You're fate line breaks at the heart line. That indicates a major change in your life, most likely in your career."

"That's my future?"

Marcy shrugged. "Sometimes the lines are the past. You know your palm lines change as you grow older. Have you had a major change in your life experience lately?"

Tommy's face didn't change, but she felt his reaction in his emotions. A power shift, something he hadn't expected. She concentrated hard, trying to see the truth, but she couldn't reach it. Tommy was guarding his secrets well. Marcy decided to let it go. She'd promised herself she wouldn't go after their secrets, this was supposed to be about cheering Tommy up after all, not satisfying her own curiosity.

"You're Native American decent, right?"

"Yeah," Tommy said. "But I was adopted."

Marcy nodded as if this was significant, which it wasn't. "Native Americans usually believe heavily in past lives and spirits. Do you know what anything about exactly which tribe you come from?"

Tommy shook his head. "They just said my birth mother was listed as Native American on her medical records. I've never met anyone from my biological family."

"Hmm.." she said thoughtfully playing the scene out. She dropped his hand. "That's too bad, it would have been interesting."

"Does it make a difference?" This question came from Adam and Marcy turned her attention across the table.

"It's more a matter of interpretation," she said. "Some cultures look at things differently than others, but for the most part, the end meaning is the same. Palmistry isn't just about lines on your hand, or even about the future, it's about reading person as a whole. Sometimes knowing where you've been is the best indicator of where you're going." She threw a glance at Tommy. "And then sometimes it isn't."

She let the silence hang in the air a bit. Billy broke it first with a scoff. "It's superstitious nonsense."

Marcy laughed at that and patted his hand. "It's all in fun."

A rhythmic beeping broke the laughter. Marcy had heard it before; it came from the watch-like bracelets each of them wore. Every time the chime sounded they all froze. Tommy held his expression, keeping his smile even though his eyes flickered in panic. The others tried to follow his example, some better than others.

"It's getting late," Tommy said. "I have some stuff to take care of…studying."

"Yeah," Rocky said. "I'm coming with you. We got that big test tomorrow."

The chorus went up and Marcy played along. Only Billy didn't move. When she looked over her shoulder at him, his eyes were on Tommy.

"You should go with them," Marcy said, playing the part she'd committed herself to.

Billy looked at her in shock but regained himself quickly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said. "If they need to study you should help them. I need to get home anyway."

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Call me when you're done."

He nodded and mumbled a goodbye, then followed after the others. Marcy sat at the table alone for several minutes thinking. She knew good and well that that alarm meant something, something that had to do with their powers. She hadn't put together what yet, and the truth was, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. What would she do if she did find out? Would she tell Billy her own secrets? Her own past? Would she take up the mantle of warrior again for him?

She realized she'd been finger the crystal hidden beneath her shirt. It had been ten years since she'd touched its power, and that time she had intended to die with it. Had she been spared for this? To help this color coded team of mystery?

For a brief second she closed her fist around the crystal, balling the fabric of her shirt in around it. She could find out. All it would take was the simple thought. To reach out with the power and concentrate on Billy, and the crystal would take her to him, wherever he was. She could reveal everything then, open her burden onto him and his friends and take theirs in return.

No.

She dropped the crystal with a sudden jerk. It was too risky. What if others detected her? There were other evil powers at work on this planet. If they found out about her power, her crystals, she'd be putting herself at risk. She could only access so much power alone, without the other Tanzetti warriors for fight with her, to share the combined power, her own powers were limited. She couldn't take that risk, especially not now.

Whatever secrets Billy carried, whatever mission he was on, it wasn't hers to interfere in. Her power was useless to him and if it did bring down danger on her, there was a good chance he and his friends would be at risk as well. She wouldn't do that to him. Their secrets were more important than ever.

_One day_, she thought. _One day I'll be able to tell him. One day when he's free of his own burdens. _

She really hoped that day would come.


	11. We Lie Because We Have To

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Marcy pulled the car as closely as she felt comfortably to the edge of the cliff. There were guard rails clearly marking the drop-of zone, but it still made her nervous to have her work of art so close to a hundred foot drop. It was Friday night and she was taking Billy to the top of Angel Lookout to see some celestial event he'd been tracking.

"Is this close enough?"

Billy was sitting in the driver's seat looking down at a jumble of maps he'd brought with him. He was holding a small penlight in his hand, tracing the lines on the map in the dark.

"Precisely," he said. "We should have a perfect view from here."

"Are the others coming?"

Billy's face fell a little. "I invited them, but they didn't seem interested. Tommy and Rocky have a big tournament tomorrow and Adam's going along to help. They have to leave early because it's in Riverside. As for Kim and Aisha…"

"Stargazing with us probably seems like an intrusion without the boys here."

Billy shrugged acknowledging her meaning.

"How long have you known them?" Marcy asked.

"Kim and I have been in the same school since Kindergarten. We had some other friends, Jason, Zach, and Trini. We all grew up together, then Tommy joined in high school. Then Jason, Zach, and Trini were chosen for the Teen Peace Conference and we met Rocky, Adam and Aisha around the same time so… It just worked out."

Marcy couldn't help smiling. She hadn't missed the fact that he'd used the word joined when referring to Tommy. And she hadn't missed how he'd referred to meeting Rocky, Adam, and Aisha being the same time his other three friends had left. There was too much convenience in that. Obviously, this Jason, Zach, and Trini were originally part of the team, but had been replaced by the current warriors because of their need to leave the country.

She's suspected their power was transferrable, but this confirmed it. It also pulled at her heart a bit to know it. Billy wouldn't be stuck with his power forever, and he could pass it on one day. She envied that. Her power could only be passed through bloodline, and even then, only failing health or death allowed the power to be passed on. It was rare to live beyond passing on a crystal. No matter how much it burdened her, Marcy knew that only death would free her of the magic she carried.

"What?"

Marcy snapped from her thought and saw Billy looking at her, one eyebrow raised in question.

Marcy shook her head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You were a million miles away," Billy said. "What were you smiling about?"

"I was just thinking about how lucky you are to have such good friends," she said. "I used to have friends like that, but I haven't seen them in a long time."

Billy nodded, but didn't say anything. There was silence for a few beats where only the sounds of the night in the desert could be heard. Then Billy shifted and sighed.

"I should get the equipment out," he said. "The comet should be visible soon."

They both stepped from the car. Marcy had already lowered the convertible top on the drive up here and she opened the trunk for Billy to get his telescope and computer out. He had an electronic telescope that was programmed into a portable computer system he'd designed for it. He'd been watching the comet's progress from home, aided by coordinates he got from others who were tracking it online. It was a new comet, one that hadn't been seen before, so far as anyone knew, and he was so excited about being on of the first ones to track it.

Marcy stood back as he arranged the telescope and computers along the back hood of her car. Her thoughts were still on the future, the lingering thoughts of her own powers concealed in a small crystal that hung around her neck. Not for the first time she thought about the long term affects this would have on Billy. She loved him, she was sure of it, but there were so many complications, the least of which were telling him about the Tanzetti. There was also the fact that he had a year and a half of high school left, as well as college. She'd be graduating next year and after that she had no plans at all. Her degree was in literature and there weren't many job prospects unless she decided to continue for a more advanced degree, which she wasn't sure if she wanted.

She already had a Bachelor's Degree in Art from when she lived in L.A., but that was under another alias she'd obtained shortly after coming to earth. She'd worked a few years in-between at various jobs, but missed the college environment and the company of the other crystals, so she'd moved back here three years ago with a new alias and started over. That had kind of been her plan, just keep moving, starting over and staying as long as possible.

But starting over this time meant leaving Billy, and she wasn't sure if she could do that. The other option was telling him the truth, but even then, eventually she'd have to change her identity again. Eventually people would notice her lack of aging in a normal manner. And that was a whole other matter she hadn't even started to contend with.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ She thought as Billy finished booting up the computer. The light from the screen was the main source of light out here, so far from the city. It glinted off his glasses making it impossible to see his eyes properly, but he was smiling as he finished the calculations and brought the comet into sight on the screen.

"It's all set," he said. "Peak time starts in about an hour and will last for about two."

Marcy nodded. "Can you move the computer around so we can sit in the backseat and watch?"

"Sure." Billy made the necessary adjustments to the computer and wires and they both settled in the backseat of the car. Unfortunately there would both have to turn to face the back of the seat to see the computer screen, Marcy didn't see that being a big problem. She sat facing forward in the seat and leaned back against the top of the car looking up at the stars. Billy chose this spot because it was outside the bright lights of the city that washed out the stars. Millions of stars were visible in the sky overhead.

"Can look at other parts of space with that or will that mess up your comet recording?"

Billy shook his head. "No, we can look at other stuff while we're waiting. Did you have something in mind?"

Marcy gave him the coordinates and he typed them in. She kept her eyes on the night sky as the motor of the telescope buzzed, spinning the instrument to the right place.

"It's really far out there," he said. "I'm afraid this isn't going to be a very good view."

Marcy turned in her seat and looked at the screen. It wasn't a good view, but it was there. A cluster of stars over forty million light years away. She pointed to the star in the center.

"That one," she said. "It was a sun with four planets rotating around it. It went supernova ten years ago but the light won't be seen on earth for forty million years."

"How do you know that?"

Marcy shook her head. "Someone told me once," she said. The truth was she'd spent the first five years of her life on earth studying star charts, comparing her limited knowledge of space coordinates to find the exact location. The power of the crystals had catapulted her over forty million light years through space, to the hilltop outside Angel Grove where the crystals are now hidden to be exact. She still wasn't sure why the crystals had chosen that exact spot. There was something powerful in those mountains, a natural energy source. Her best guess was that the crystals had been attracted by that power. But it was only a guess.

Billy just sighed and looked at the computer screen, his hands resting on his knuckles the way he sat when he was thinking. "I wish I had a better telescope. I know where there's a visible supernova."

He began typing again and the screen changed. She listened quietly while he went through a few of his favorite sights. He had a fairly decent telescope and could see most of the classic sights. But when he ran out of coordinates that he knew by heart he went back to the comet.

"We still have half an hour before the peak time," he said settling in the seat next to her.

She snuggled into his shoulder and he moved so his arm was around her shoulders. He started slow, like he always did, kissing her hair, and her temples until she turned enough to kiss his lips. In public his affection was limited, especially in front of his friends. Their little scene at his birthday party was about as outgoing as they'd ever been. But in private he was comfortable and open. He never hesitated to kiss her or touch her when they were alone.

He moved to her jawline to her ear and down her neck. She pulled herself up until she was on his lap, and he pulled her in, kissing her hard. She felt a rush of heat through her body and knew Billy was feeling the same thing. Things escalated faster every time they were along like this. She knew it was wrong to give in to these feelings now, when so much was still uncertain, but she couldn't resist it. Especially when she could feel how deeply the emotions carried with Billy as well.

His hands came up her sides, touching her breast gently through her shirt, making her nipples contract. The thoughts from earlier began to creep back into her head. She didn't want to make love to him if she was just going to leave him, but at the same time the thought of not being with him, of never being with him…

_No_. She pushed the thoughts away. _I don't have to make any decisions now. Not this second_.

She felt Billy shift under her and then she was on her back on the seat with him on top of her. Still kissing her, his whole body moving against her with desire. Two fears came over her. The first one was that he wouldn't stop. The second was that he would.

But he did stop, pulling away enough that she could just make out his face in the dim light.

_What would he do if I told everything to him now?_ She wondered. _Would he tell me all his secrets in return?_

"Billy," she began softly.

"It's okay," he said. His thumb stroked her cheek reassuringly. His emotions flowing freely through the simple touch. "I just want to hold you."

He thought she was talking about sex. He completely understanding about her hesitation, having no idea the true reason for it. It was ironic how it all tied in together.

His lips were on hers again and this time she wanted him to stop. She would tell him everything, it was the only way. It had to be his choice. He had to know everything, nothing else would be fair.

But the chance didn't come. Their kiss was interrupted by the rhythmic beeping of Billy's bracelet. She felt his body go ridged at the sound, but he didn't say anything. He moved away, sitting up on the seat. She followed his example and the beeping repeated.

"You have to go," she said flatly.

He turned to look at her, the light from the computer screen illuminating his face perfectly. He opened his mouth to object then stopped. This was a long time coming and they both knew it. It was one thing to rush off with his friends, but out here, where it was just them, there was no way to hide it.

_I was willing to tell him everything_, she thought. _Is it wrong to ask for the same in return?_

"I'm not stupid," she said. "I know what that is. Every time that thing beeps you and your friends suddenly disappear."

"It's not what-I mean it just hard-" He struggled for the words. She guessed he was trying to come up with an explanation that would make her angry.

But it did make her angry. He couldn't tell her. She could see it in his eyes, even without touching him she could see he was struggling for the best thing to say that wouldn't destroy their relationship. The truth wasn't an option. Her secrets were her own, there was no other family or friends to answer to if she told him. But his secrets were not his own. There were five other people he put at risk by revealing the truth.

"I know you have secrets, Billy," she said. "You and your friends, you're involved in something. You don't have to tell me about it, but don't lie to me."

His eyes went wide at the accusation. The silence hung over them as she waited. She'd done all she could to give him the chance. Now it was his turn.

"Yes," he said finally in defeat. "I wish I could tell you, but I can't."

A third beep sounded. Billy's right hand went instinctively to the bracelet on his right wrist.

"That's how they communicate with you," she said.

Billy nodded. "Yes."

"Is it dangerous?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Yes. No!" He sighed. "It's complicated."

"Is it illegal?"

"No!"

She let the silence hand another minute trying very hard not to enjoy the growing level of discomfort on Billy's face. He needed to leave and they both knew it, but he wouldn't go until he was sure she'd be waiting for him when he got back.

"Do you need a ride back into town?"

Again he looked at her wide eyed, unable to believe she was truly accepting all of this. Finally, he seemed to regain some of his confidence.

"No," he said. "There are…other ways for me to get to them."

Marcy nodded. "I'll stay here then," she said. "Monitor the comet for you, so you don't miss it."

Billy nodded. He sat there another moment, still recovering from the shock, but finally he opened the car door and stepped out. Marcy slid across the seat after him. Her anger had cooled and found is slowly being replaced by guilt. She had been struggling for weeks over telling him the truth, it was unfair to believe he didn't fight the same battle every day. And now she'd backed him into a corner and forced him to tell things that weren't his secrets to tell.

Without thinking she reached for his hand. He turned back to her, waiting.

"Be safe," she said. "I'll be here when you get back."

"I don't know how long I'll be gone," he said.

She squeezed his hand tighter. "I'll still be here."

He nodded and squeezed her hand back. Then he took a step back and she felt his hand slid from hers as he disappeared into the dark.


	12. Death by Chocolate

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Billy knocked on the door and it flew open almost immediately. Marcy stood behind the door smiling.

"Hi!" she said, then bit her lip in hesitation. "There's a little problem."

"Is he here?" called a voice from inside. The door was pulled aside and a woman about Marcy's age, but with almost black hair that was tied into a complicated knot on top of her head appeared behind Marcy. "Oh good," she said. "Come in."

She grabbed Billy by the arm and led him into the apartment. The woman, who was easily a head shorter than Billy, but had at least thirty pounds on him, pulled him across the room as if he were no more than a child being dragged to time out. She set him on the couch in the small living room and stood over him. The television was tuned to a news only station and there was a third woman, a skinny blonde with a long hooked nose and thick black rimmed glasses sitting in an overstuffed chair peering into a very thick textbook. She didn't look up when Billy was tossed unceremoniously onto the couch.

"Now, you sit here and I'll be right back." The dark-haired woman turned then and strode away to the kitchen.

Marcy appeared in front of him and came around to sit next to him on the couch. "I'm so sorry about this. I know we were supposed to see a movie, but Sarah told me this morning that she hasn't finished her final project for her cooking school and needed people to stay around and help."

"What do you mean help?" Billy asked suddenly nervous. He had made it clear on several occasions that his culinary skills stopped at pouring milk on cereal.

"Tasting."

As if by cue Sarah appeared again, this time holding a large dessert cup filled with white and brown swirls. A long dessert spoon was held in the other hand.

"I need a man's opinion," Sarah said, thrusting the concoction in his face.

He took the dish carefully and then the spoon. She stood over him, hands on hips, waiting and he realized this was expected to do this in front of an audience. Even the blonde roommate, whom he hadn't met, was watching, peering over her dark glasses at him.

Billy took a deep breath and dipped the spoon into the cup. It was smooth, like pudding, but not too thick. He could already smell the sweetness of the chocolate. He took the first bite and the rich taste of the cocoa filled his mouth, with just a hint of tart raspberry. The texture was light and airy, more like a mousse that a pudding and when he closed his mouth around the spoon he could feel the tiny air bubbles explode, tickling the roof of his mouth.

Before he even finished swallowing he was nodding his approval. "It's good," he said.

"It's not too sweet?" Sarah asked.

"No," he said. "But I like sweeter chocolate."

She ignored his comment and was already bustling to the kitchen. "Okay," she said over her shoulder. "You enjoy that, I'll be back with the hors devours."

Marcy shifted beside him. "Hello, other hungry tasters out here."

"I'll have more for you in a second!" Was the response from the kitchen.

"I love her chocolate soufflé," Marcy said.

"Me too."

The blonde roommate was starring full out at him now, textbook forgotten in her lap.

The door opened and closed with a slam, making Billy jump. A third woman, Devon, Billy remembered from a previous, but short meeting. She was tall and heavy built and her hair was a long silky brown. She tossed her backpack to the side and began pulling off a long red and pink silk scarf that she'd elaborately wrapped around her shoulders. Kimberly would have died over that scarf.

"Sorry I'm late," Devon said. Then she spied Billy, or rather, Billy's treat and she sank into the chair next to him.

"Is that the new raspberry mousse? How is it?"

Devon leaned in at him and he felt Marcy shift on the couch next to him. At this point it occurred to Billy that he was in a room full of hungry women and he was the one holding the chocolate. There was surly a plethora of fantasies that began this way but the reality was, he was very scared he might lose his life over the little dessert cup on his hands.

He was never more grateful to hear his communicator go off.

He sat the dessert on the coffee table. "I, uh, I have a thing, this afternoon. I should go."

"You're leaving?"

Sarah materialized again behind him as he stood up.

"You can't go," she said. "I have four casseroles in the oven and I haven't even started the quiche."

"If he needs to go, he needs go," Marcy spoke up. Billy looked at her and smiled, grateful for the support. He'd agreed not to lie to her about his secret life, but he didn't want to ask her to lie to her friends.

"I'll come back," he said helpfully. "Maybe in a few hours?"

Sara was brandishing a large wooden spoon at him. "You better," she said. "And bring friends. This is my final grade, it has to be perfect."

"Okay," Billy agreed. Marcy was on her feet and walked him to the door.

"Be careful," she said softly as he stepped out the door. She stepped out the door and kissed him softly on the lips. She slipped her hand in his and squeezed gently. This had become tradition somehow. He would take his hand as he was leaving, and hold it until the last second. For a second he seriously considered going back in the apartment with her, chocolate death or no, but he knew he had to leave.

"I will," he said finally. He stepped back, his hand still holding hers, pulling the hand along with him until she could reach no farther and was forced to let his hand slide away.

He turned then and headed down the hall. When he reached the second story landing he stopped, looking around. He'd heard the door to the upstairs close and there was no other movement in the halls above or below him.

When he was sure there wasn't anyone around he touched the controls on his communicator.

"I'm here, Zordon," he said quietly.

"Billy, you must teleport to the command center at once, the other rangers are already here."

"I'm on my way."

When Billy hit the floor of the Command Center two hours later he was exhausted. He could barely keep from collapsing against the counter of one of the control stations. Everyone else looked similarly haggard. It had been a hard battle. Their powers usually prevented too much fatigue after a battle, but a longer struggle like this was bound to have some repercussions.

"Man, that was tough," Rocky said finally, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "Zedd and Rita get more brutal every day."

"That may be the case," Zordon spoke up. "But you have once again defeated them and for that you should be proud of yourselves. You should all go home now and rest, you will need it."

"Yeah, man, I'm starving," Rocky said standing up a little straighter in anticipation of teleporting.

But his words reminded Billy of something. "Hey guys," he said before they teleported away. "I have an idea."

"Billy, dis is the besth idea you ever havf," Rocky said through his full mouth.

They were all seated around Sarah's miniscule dining room table with a spread that could easily feed an army laid out in front of them. Next to each plate was a small note pad and pen next to their plate for writing comments. Rocky was seated at the head of the table and his notepad already had five full pages of writing on it.

"Yeah, you're pretty lucky to have a girlfriend who can feed you so well," Tommy spoke up.

"Hey, I can cook," Kimberly interjected from Tommy's right.

"Yes you can, and that's why I love you," Tommy said quickly following it up with a quick kiss.

Billy felt Marcy's hand on his thigh. He was crammed into the middle of the table between her and Adam. Aisha and Marcy's other two roommates Ashley and Devon were seated on Marcy's other side.

"It's not my doing," Marcy said. "I'm lucky I have such a talented roommate like Sarah."

They all looked up a Sarah entered the room again carrying yet another dish, this one bearing a steaming sliced roast.

"I want your completely honest opinions," she said. "Be as detailed as possible. Even if you don't like it, still write something, okay?" She looked across the table at her tasting team, smiling. Her eyes landed on Billy.

"Billy, I wanted to thank you again for bringing your friends over like this. You have no idea how much this is going to help me."

"No problem," Billy said.

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. "We're happy to help."

The conversation was broken by the sound of Rocky flipping over a fifth sheet of paper on his notepad and beginning a sixth, scribbling furiously. Sarah smiled and walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, slow down," she said. "You still have to get through dessert."

Rocky shook his head, but relaxed his writing a little. "I can't help it," he said. "It's so good." He pointed at the half eaten quiche on his plate. "You put saffron in this?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"You can taste it. My mom makes this dish with sausage and pasta in cream and red wine sauce. You would die for it."

"I have a recipe similar to that," Sara said. "Mine had eggplant."

Rocky gasped dramatically. "Why didn't you make that now?"

Sarah cringed a little. "Oh, that's more of a homey dish; I wanted to do a gourmet spread."

"Well, then you have to make it for me some other time," Rocky said smiling. "I have to try it. I love eggplant."

Sarah smiled brightly. "Me too. But I never get to make it. My boyfriend hates it. He won't eat hardly anything I cook. He says it's too fancy."

"Jasper is a horse's ass," Marcy said suddenly drawing everyone's attention. Billy saw her hid her face behind her glass of red wine, her eyes cold and looking straight ahead. When he turned back to Sarah her face was sad and downcast, but then she regained herself suddenly and went back to Rocky.

"I'll write the recipe down for you so you're mom can try it," she said.

"Okay," Rocky said cautiously. Marcy's sudden outburst had put a level of tension on the room and no one was sure what to say after that. But Sarah went on as if it never happened. She stepped back from the table and waved her arms at the full spread.

"Okay, this is pretty much it for the entrees so finish up, write your notes and I'll go get the desserts ready." With that she flew back into the kitchen.

Marcy drained her wine glass and set it on the table with a clink. Everyone was silent now, not sure what she meant by her last comment. But she was smiling too, just like Sarah, she'd tucked away whatever tension existed there as if it never happened.

"You guys are going to love Sarah's desserts," she said with a smile.

"Yeah," Ashley spoke up. "She makes her own chocolate, buys this special cocoa shipped in from L.A. It is like…chocolate orgasm."

"Absolutely," Marcy said.

Tommy began coughing at the sudden shift in dinner conversation.

"You all right there, Tommy?" Marcy asked. She refilled her wine glass sipped at it again. It was only her second glass of wine but Billy found himself feeling nervous all the same.

"Fine," Tommy said weakly. "Just never heard of it referred to in quite that way."

"Dude," Rocky spoke up. "You've never had a chocolate orgasm?"

This time it was Marcy's turn to choke on her drink. When she finally recovered she was laughing. "And you have?"

Rocky's face was stone cold. "My dad owns a bakery. Chocolate is his specialty."

Marcy smiled and raised her glass. "To chocolate orgasms."

Everyone at the table raised their glasses and repeated the toast.

"Fuckin' A," Rocky said.


	13. One Wrong Move

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Billy was the last to leave the apartment at the end of the evening. Marcy walked him down to his car so they could have a few quiet moments together. Even after his friends left it was hard to have any privacy with her roommates around.

"Thanks again for bringing your friends over," Marcy said. "You have no idea how thrilled Sarah was about that. Especially Rocky. I knew he was a big eater, but I didn't know he had such an appreciation for food."

"Me neither," Billy said. They'd reached his car but he was reluctant to drive away just yet. He leaned against the door and looked up at her. There was a streetlight overhead and the glow made Marcy's hair light up, showing off the natural highlights in her smooth tresses.

"I wanted to ask you something," Billy said. "You mentioned Sarah's boyfriend."

Marcy tilted her head back and took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry about that," she said coldly. "That wasn't appropriate of me. It's just…"

"You don't like him," Billy said.

She looked over at him, and even in this dim light he could see the fire in her eyes. "He's not a nice person. I can't say it's one thing in particular, but something about him just grates on me. He doesn't just not like her cooking, he puts it down. He has this way of mincing his words so on the surface it seems like a compliment, but if you know the whole story you know it's not."

"Does he…hurt her?" Billy asked.

Marcy looked down at the pavement and rocked back on her heels. "I don't think he hits her," she said, "But I know he's not nice to her. I just can't prove it."

She crossed the space between the cars and came to lean against the car next to Billy. "Did you notice the way she acted when Rocky was talking to her? Whenever any guy compliments her she immediately brings up Jasper. She feels the need to sabotage any relationship with another guy. She's afraid of his jealously."

"Maybe she just didn't like Rocky," Billy said.

"Who doesn't like Rocky?" Marcy said. "Besides, I hate to say this, but he's perfect for her. He's kind and gentle, and he appreciates good food. He's not the smartest person, but he's not stupid at all. He's big and lovable and funny and,"

"Should I be getting jealous?" Billy said suddenly.

Marcy laughed. "No. I don't like big cuddly guys. I like evil geniuses." She leaned in and gave him a kiss for reassurance.

"How do you do that?" Billy asked when they broke apart. "How do you read people so well?"

Marcy shrugged. "It's a gift. I am majoring in psychology. I've always just known how to connect with people."

"So what do we do about Sarah and Rocky?" he asked.

Marcy leaned back against the car and sighed. "Not much we can do. Not right now. I just hope Jasper screws up enough to prove me right one day."

Billy but his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I wish you didn't have to go home."

"I can stay a little while longer," he said.

He felt her head shaking no. She shifted under his arm and he felt her lips against his neck. He turned a little so he could kiss her again. Her arms slid around his neck and her fingers were in his hair. He knew she would make him stop eventually, and send him home, but right now she was here, and he didn't want to stop.

"Check."

Marcy watch Billy lean over on his elbows, considering the bishop she'd just moved within striking distance of his king. He didn't have a lot of options. He could block with the pawn, but that would open up the right side of the board to attack from her rook, or he could move the king, which would destroy his chances of castling to evade the rook later. Either way, she'd have him in at least two moves.

He sighed and moved the pawn. Marcy let out a little scoff and took it with her queen. "You're letting me win."

"This is our fourth game today, I've beaten you once. You really think I want you to win that badly." He took his chances and castled, evading her for at least one more move.

They were sitting at a table in the Youth Center. It was after school on a Wednesday, and it was raining outside. Tommy and Rocky were demonstrating a new move for their advanced martial arts class out on the floor.

"Only because you love me." She moved the rook and took his last bishop. "Checkmate."

"I'm not playing with you anymore," Billy said in annoyance. "You cheat."

"I do not cheat. How would I cheat at chess?"

Billy shrugged. "I don't know, you read my mind."

"I can't read your mind," Marcy said. _I read your soul,_ she added to herself.

"You always know what I'm going to do," Billy said in a genuine whine.

"I'm just good at reading people," she said. "And you're an easy person to read."

"Oh really?" he said leaning back in his chair his hands resting on the table. He his eyes contorted into a scowl. "What am I thinking now?"

Marcy leaned in, narrowing her eyes as if peering into his. She also reached out and ever so slightly touched the top of his hands with her fingertips. She didn't see a full on image, but the emotional outpouring made his intentions perfectly clear. It took all of her strength not to blush. For all his genius, Billy had a very dirty mind.

"You're thinking you want to buy me another strawberry smoothie," she said.

His scowl softened into a smile and he stood up and went to the bar without another word. Marcy picked up the chess pieces and began putting them away. Across the room she saw Rocky and Tommy dismissing their class. Once the kids were off the mats they walked up to the table.

"Hey Marcy," Rocky said taking Billy's empty seat. Tommy pulled up two more chairs as Billy returned with the smoothies.

"I wanted to ask you," Rocky continued. "How did Sarah's final go? What did she end up choosing for her menu?"

"Uh, she went with the tenderloin roast and the garden vegetables," Marcy answered, "and the Cranberry salad."

"What did she do for desert?" Rocky asked.

Marcy tried to think. She was in so much shock that Rocky had asked, she completely forgot. "I don't remember. I would have to call her and ask."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rocky said. "I was just curious."

Marcy smiled. She'd been right about Rocky after all. "You know what?" she said pulling out one of her business cards from the bookstore. She flipped the card over and wrote the apartment phone number down. "This is her phone number. Why don't you call her yourself? She's there now."

Rocky took the card and his face lit up. "Okay, I'll be right back."

He got up and walked out to the hallway where the payphones were.

"What are you doing?" Billy said suddenly.

Marcy looked over her shoulder, the model of innocence. "Nothing."

Billy's eyes dimmed at her. "I know what you're up to."

"What?" Tommy said, taking both of them by surprise.

"Marcy doesn't like Sarah's boyfriend, so she's setting her up with Rocky," Billy replied.

"I am not," Marcy said. "I am being nice to your friends because I like them. If your friends like my friends that's not my business."

"Just be careful," Billy said.

Marcy leaned over him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I always am," she said. She kissed his cheek and hugged him. "Speaking of which, I need to go."

She gathered up her books and stood up. "I love you."

"I love you too." Billy leaned back in his chair so she could kiss him goodbye, then she walked out of the Youth Center, waiving to Rocky at the payphones as she left.

Billy jumped when the phone rang. He rolled over and looked at the clock next to his bed. Twelve forty-seven. Who would be calling him at this hour?

He picked up the phone quickly and answered. "Hello?"

"Billy?" The voice on the other line was shaking but he recognized it easily.

"Marcy? What's wrong?"

There was a shaky breath, as if she were trying not to cry. "I'm sorry it's so late," she said. "I didn't know who else to call."

"What happened?"

"S-ssarah," she said. "We-we're at the hospital. You were right, I messed up-"

"Are you hurt?" he asked already on his feet, groping at the clothes on the floor in the dark, looking for his jeans.

"No, but-"

"Stay where you are," he said. "I'll be right there."

The hospital lights were bright compared to the night sky at one in the morning. Billy squinted as he walked through the emergency room entrance. The waiting room was off to the side of a large reception desk. The room nearly empty and he saw Marcy pacing in a corner right away.

She spotted him and ran to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't know who else to call."

He held her close for several seconds. "What happened?"

Marcy took a step back, she was visibly shaking and looked like she was going to burst into tears. Her eyes were red and her face blotchy and he knew she'd been crying already.

"Sit down," he said gently leading her to a chair. "Tell me what happened."

She took a deep breath. "I went to the library on campus to research a paper. I decided to just stay and start working on it since I was there. Devon and Ashley are at that leadership retreat and I knew Sarah had a date with Jasper so I didn't see the point in going home. So I stayed until the library closed at midnight.

"And then when I came home I found-" she stopped and held her breath and Billy knew she was trying not to cry. He squeezed her hand gently.

"It's okay," he said. He was pretty sure he knew what had happened after that.

"There was so much blood," Marcy said after a time. "I thought at first she was dead."

"How bad is it?" he asked.

Marcy shook her head. "They're still doing scans and stuff. They said it will be a few hours and she'll probably need surgery. Oh, God Billy, this is my fault!"

The tears rolled down her face and Billy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. "No," he said. "It's not your fault."

"I should have been there."

"It wasn't your fault," Billy whispered. "If Jasper wanted to hurt her he would have found a way whether you were there or not. He's an abuser, that's what he does. This would have happened eventually, no matter what you did."

They continued to sit in the waiting room until Billy could see the first rays of red and orange dawn through the windows. Marcy was laying against his shoulder, her eyes were closed, but he was fairly sure she wasn't asleep. Neither of them had slept much. Someone had come out around three am to tell them that Sarah needed surgery because she had several broken ribs that were damaging her lungs. The police came as well, taking statements from Marcy and wanting more information on Jasper. Marcy told them everything she could think of. They also looked up Sarah's parents in L.A. because Marcy couldn't remember their number.

Billy looked at the clock on the waiting room wall and knew he had a dilemma. It was five twelve and he hadn't slept since before one am. His father would be getting up soon and find the hastily scribbled note he'd left on the kitchen counter. That wouldn't keep him out of trouble, but it would at least delay it until tonight. The second problem was that it was Friday, he would need to go to school. He had no sleep, and no clean clothes, and he didn't relish the thought of leaving Marcy here by herself.

As if she could read his thoughts Marcy suddenly spoke up. "You have to go to school today."

"Yeah," he said. "I _could_ just stay here…"

"No," she said. "You're not skipping class. Go home, get some rest. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

She was sitting up now. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep. She yawned again before speaking. "I'll be fine. As soon as Sarah's out of surgery I'll go home."

"I can stay a while longer," Billy offered. If he went home now there was a good chance he'd have to face his dad before school.

"Go," Marcy said firmly. "Call me when you get out of school."

Billy nodded and she leaned in and hugged him tight. "Thank you for coming out here," she whispered in his ear. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Billy nodded and kissed her forehead before forcing himself to his feet and leaving the hospital.


	14. A Brief Segue into the Life of Rocky

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

"Hey Rocky, check it out!"

Rocky looked over Tommy's shoulder and immediately saw what had caught his attention. Billy, usually the model student, was sitting in his desk with his head slumped over one arm, fast asleep. They tiptoed through the room to take seats next to their sleeping friend.

"Should we wake him up?" Rocky said.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Kim's voice said over Rocky's shoulder. He looked up and saw Aisha and Adam taking seats behind her. "What happened to Billy?"

"Don't know," Tommy said. "He was like this when we got here."

The warning bell rang and Billy didn't move.

"We should wake him up before class," Aisha said. "If Mrs. Appleby sees him he'll get in trouble."

Tommy shook Billy on the shoulder. Nothing. He shook harder. "Billy!"

Billy jumped and sat up. His face was red from fatigue and there was a deep slash imprinted across his face from his sleeve.

"Dude," Tommy said. "What happened to you? You never sleep in class."

Billy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sighed. "Marcy's roommate Sarah is in the hospital. She called me early this morning and I went out there to see her."

Rocky felt his stomach hit the floor. "What happened to Sarah?"

Billy shook his head. "We think her boyfriend beat her up. Marcy found her late last night in the apartment."

"Is she alright?" Rocky asked. He had to wait to get his answer until Billy finished yawning.

"She was in surgery when I left. The doctors said she should be fine though."

Tommy was shaking his head. "Man, Marcy called you in the middle of the night and you just went out there?"

"Yeah," Billy said. "I'm grounded for two weeks, my dad caught me coming back this morning. He took the keys to the Rad Bug."

The second bell rang and Mrs. Appleby came in and started the lesson so they had to settle into their books and Rocky couldn't ask any more questions. His friends sat studiously listening to the lesson, but Rocky couldn't concentrate. His thoughts kept drifting to Sarah.

How could someone have done that to her? And her own boyfriend? He couldn't imagine the type of rage you would have to feel to hurt someone like that. He wished there was something he could do. He had a few fantasies about paying the boyfriend a visit as the Red Ranger. Maybe bringing Adam or Tommy with him. Having two Power Rangers show up at your door would be enough to scare the bejeezus out of anybody.

He was enjoying the thought of watching some faceless girlfriend beater on the floor begging the Red Ranger not to hurt him when the classroom door opened and Mr. Kaplan stepped in.

"Excuse me Ms. Appleby," he said, "but I need to borrow Mr. DeSantos for a minute."

"All right," Ms. Appleby said sweetly. "Rocky go with Mr. Kaplan, please."

Rocky stood up and followed Mr. Kaplan to his office. It was a fairly long walk to the office and Mr. Kaplan said nothing on the way there. A small pit of fear started forming in Rocky's stomach. Something wasn't right about this.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kaplan," he said slowly. "Am I in trouble?"

Mr. Kaplan didn't answer right away. Rocky couldn't see his face, but he was pretty sure whatever his principal was about to tell him wasn't good. "Not exactly," he said finally. "But there are some people here who want to talk to you."

They were to his office by that point and when Mr. Kaplan opened the door Rocky saw two fully uniformed policemen standing inside the office. Rocky stopped cold. Something was wrong. Was it his parents? There could have been an accident at the bakery. Or one of his brothers or sisters.

A million possibilities were rushing through his head so fast he almost didn't hear Mr. Kaplan speaking to him.

"This is Officer Morgan, and Officer Reed," the principal was saying. "They have some questions for you."

"Sit down, Mr. DeSantos," Officer Morgan said gesturing towards the one of the leather bound chairs in front of the desk.

Rocky sat slowly, his heart pounding. _Please don't let anyone be hurt_, he thought. _What am I going to do if Mom or Dad is hurt_?

Officer Reed took the seat next to him. He was a thin man with pale blonde hair cut extremely short. Officer Morgan was leaning against Mr. Kaplan's desk holding a small notepad in front of him. Mr. Kaplan had taken position standing in the far corner of the small office.

"Do you know a Sarah Drysdale?" Officer Morgan asked.

Sarah? Were they asking about Marcy's roommate?

"Is that Marcy Tannon's roommate?"

"Yes," said Reed. "You know her then?"

Rocky let out a breath and some of the tension faded. "I met her once, last weekend. I don't know much about her."

"You've only met her once?" Morgan said with a little shock in his voice.

Rocky nodded. "Yeah, Billy, my best friend, he's dating Marcy and they were having this thing to help with Sarah's cooking class. All of us were there."

"All of us?" Reed asked.

"Tommy, Kimberly, Adam, Aisha, and Billy, of course," he said. "And her other roommates were there, I don't remember their names."

Morgan nodded and scribbled something in his notebook. "And you haven't seen her any other times besides that?"

Rocky shook his head. "I called her once," he admitted. "To see how her final went in cooking school."

"That's it?" Morgan said, his pen poised above the pad.

"Yes sir," said Rocky.

"Did you ever meet her boyfriend, Jasper Kilne?

"No, I didn't even know his name."

"What were you doing last night?" Morgan asked the question without much emotion, just a routine question, not like the cops say it on TV.

"I was home with my brothers and sisters."

"All night?"

Rocky nodded. "My parents had to work late at the bakery and there was a PTA meeting at school."

"How many brother's and sisters do you have?" Reed asked, casual, friendly.

"Six," Rocky said automatically. "Four brothers and two sisters."

"You the oldest?"

Another nod. "Yeah."

Reed let out a low whistle. "Wow," he said. "That's a big responsibility."

Rocky just nodded again. He was used to getting this reaction from people. He loved having a big family, and at the moment he was suddenly grateful for it because he had a feeling it was about to be very helpful.

Morgan wrote something briefly then looked at Reed for a second, then back to Rocky. "Can I see your hands please?"

"What?"

"You're hands, hold them up, palms down."

Rocky did as he was told, not sure why they were asking this. He watched as Morgan looked at his partner again, this time for a longer exchange of glances that obviously stood in for a private conversation. Then Morgan sighed and stood up.

"Okay," he said. "I think we have enough. We may need to talk to some of your friends and your parents to confirm everything."

"Am I in trouble?" Rocky asked again.

Both cops were on their feet now and they turned and looked at each other then down at him. Reed shook his head.

"No," he said firmly. "You're name came up in our investigation and we just wanted to check everything out. You can go back to class now."

With that they turned and left the office. Mr. Kaplan repeated the order for Rocky to return to class then followed the officers out.

Short chapter this time but hope you enjoyed. Drop a review in my slot, tell me what you think.


	15. Pink Frosting

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Marcy stepped into Sarah's hospital room and stopped short. Sarah was sitting on the bed laughing about something. She was dressed in her regular clothes because she was supposed to be going home today. The bruises on her face had gone dark from healing, but were starting to shrink, and someone had styled her hair so that the large cut over her temple didn't' show.

At the end of the bed sat Rocky DeSantos.

Sarah stopped laughing when she saw Marcy enter.

"Hey, I didn't know we were having a party," Marcy said.

Sarah blushed a little but smiled. "Rocky just brought me some cream puffs from his parents bakery," she said. "You should try one, they're delicious."

Rocky smiled and proudly held out the red and white bakery box to her. "They're my mom's special recipe."

"He made them himself," Sarah said.

"I just helped," Rocky said. "My mom did most of the work."

Marcy smiled. "I like a man who bakes," she said selecting one of the cream puffs and taking a bite. It was good, she had to give him that.

"Are you ready to go?" Marcy asked.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "I just have to sign out."

Marcy nodded. "Good, you're parents are waiting at the apartment and Ashley and I spent the whole day making burgoo."

"How much did you make?" Sarah asked, her face looking a little tense. She threw a glance over Marcy's shoulder to the man still sitting on the edge of the bed. "I kind of invited Rocky for dinner."

Marcy nodded, feeling a little tension herself. "Oh."

"You can invite Billy too if you want," Sarah said quickly. "I mean, it's only fair."

"Okay," she said. "Are you sure? That's a lot of people in the apartment. I figured you'd want to spend the evening with your parents since they're leaving tomorrow."

Rocky shifted on the bed. "Oh, I don't want to intrude," he said. "You should see your parents."

"No, it's fine," Sarah said. "I've been seeing them all week. I want to have a nice dinner with my friends."

"Okay," Marcy said. "If that's what you want." She lifted the last of the cream puff up to finish off and stopped short, taking a good look for the first time. "These have pink filling."

Rocky smiled. "That was my idea. We usually only do it for Valentine's Day, but I thought Sarah would like it."

Marcy laughed. "That's really nice of you. It's cute."

This time Rocky blushed.

"Why don't you go call Billy and tell him about dinner while I get Sarah checked out," Marcy said.

"Okay," Rocky said jumping from the bed and rushing out of the room.

The second he was gone Marcy looked at Sarah and smiled. "Pink frosting?" she said. "He put pink frosting in them?"

"I know!" Sarah said and burst out laughing. "You don't think he's gay, do you?"

Marcy controlled her laughter and sobered quickly. "No," she said taking a seat on the bed. "I think he likes you."

Sarah covered her face with her hands. "I know!" she said.

"How do you feel about that?" Marcy asked, the psychiatrist coming out in her.

"I don't know," Sarah admitted. "I-I guess I like him too but…" She sighed. "I don't know what to do. I still feel like I'm with Jasper. I just-" She buried her face again.

Marcy reached out and rubbed Sarah's shoulder. "It's all right," she said softly. "You need time to heal. You still have to get through the trial and everything too. Rocky will understand that."

"That's what the hospital therapist said," Sarah admitted. "She said to tell him I need time."

"Morgan told me Jasper accused Rocky of attacking you," Marcy said.

Sarah looked down and nodded, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "It was my fault," she said. "I had the notes he wrote for me in my backpack. He found them and flipped out. I tried to tell him what happened but he just…"

"Hey!" Marcy said firmly. "That was his fault. He had no right to go through your stuff in the first place and definitely no right to beat you up for it. Don't turn this around on yourself."

Sarah still hadn't looked up but she nodded and wiped the tears away slowly.

"Does Rocky know?" Marcy asked.

Sarah shook her head, a few thin locks of her hair falling in her face. "Not unless you told him."

"No," Marcy said. "I haven't even told Billy. I won't if you don't want me to."

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter."

"We'll just let it go for now. Do you still want him to come to dinner?" Marcy said. "You could back out. Or I could go break his leg or something."

Sarah laughed. "No, I want him there, and Billy to," she said firmly. "I want everyone there."

"You don't feel safe there alone."

Sarah shook her head and Marcy could see the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm going to see him when I walk in there. I don't want that."

"He's in jail," Marcy said. "And even if he gets out, he can't come to the apartment without getting arrested again. Plus, I'll be there. I'll re-arrange my schedule so you won't ever have to be there alone."

"I can't ask you to do that," Sarah said.

"It's not a big deal," Marcy said.

"But what if he does come back?" Sarah said. "You could get hurt."

Marcy scoffed. "Honey, I'm the state boxing champion. He takes a swing at me I'll plant his nuts in his throat."

"I wish I could have done that," Sarah said.

"You still could," Marcy said. "I can show you a few moves. Or better yet, you could take one of Tommy's classes. I think he has a new one starting next week."

Sarah shook her head. "I could never do that."

"Sure you could," Marcy said. "Just takes a little practice, and in the meantime I'll stay with you. We all will: me, Ashley and Devon, and Rocky too if you want…or not." She added the last part not sure if putting Rocky into this situation was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand she knew Rocky was a great support and easy proof that Sarah had better options, on the other, Sarah really needed time to be alone and heal before jumping into another relationship. "I can ask Billy to talk to him if you want, tell him to give you some space."

Sarah shook her head. "No, I'll tell him. I just want to get this over with."

Marcy nodded. "Make sure you're packed up, I'll go find a nurse."

She leaned in and hugged her friend tight. "It will be okay," she said softly. "Don't worry."


	16. Don't Make Me Ask You Twice

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

**It has come to my attention that I am getting over ten visitors a day on this story and not a single review. Is it really that bad people? Please, please take time to review, you can do it anonymously now, does that make it easier? Please, my ego is very lonely without feedback to draw from. **

Billy pulled the car into Marcy's parking lot and cut the engine. "You ready to go up?" he asked.

"No," Marcy said honestly. "I don't want this night to end."

Billy had to agree. It was the first time they'd been out like this in almost two weeks. Marcy had been spending a lot of time at home with Sarah while she recovered. He didn't want to intrude but he was so happy when she called and said that Sarah was going to a party on campus and she had the whole night free. They'd had dinner and movie, then walked around downtown for awhile before he finally brought her home.

He leaned over the seat and kissed her. She grabbed hold of his collar and kissed him again, harder this time. He slid across the seat next to her. He gently pushed his tongue into her mouth and she gave a soft moan and pushed back. Then she broke away quickly and he could hear her breath coming as fast as his own.

"This it getting dangerous," she said.

"It doesn't have to be," he said slowly moving his hands down her waist to grip her buttocks. "We could make it fun."

His hands were on her thighs now, moving up and down, feeling the muscles flex underneath them as his touch sent spasms through her body.

_God if I don't stop soon I'm not going to make it._

He leaned in and slowly started kissing her neck. He heard the smile in her voice when she replied, "I'm not having sex in the car."

"You're right," he said sitting back straight so he could look in her eyes. "You're car is better."

He made a move like he was going for the door and she grabbed him, laughing. "No! No cars!"

"I can be at my house in ten minutes," he suggested.

Her smile softened. He took her face in both his hands. "Make love to me," he whispered softly.

"Billy, I-"

A loud scream broke her off.

"What was that?" she said.

There were several seconds of random scrambling and then they were both running around the car looking for the source of the screaming. It didn't take long to find. Near the entrance to the building a woman was standing, yelling, and there were two men on the ground, one on top of the other, punching him for all it was worth.

"Sarah!" Marcy shouted and the woman looked up. Then Billy noticed that the man on top was wearing a bright red tee shirt.

"Rocky!" He stepped in and grabbed Rocky by the arm he was hitting with, Marcy had him by the other arm and they pulled him up. He wasn't steady on his feet so they leaned him against a parked car.

"What happened?" Marcy demanded.

"He c-came out of nowhere," Sarah said. "He went after me first but Rocky stepped in-between us and…"

Billy looked at Rocky. There was a blank look in his fellow Ranger's eyes. He'd taken a few hits before turning on Jasper. He had a split lip that was swelling rapidly and his nose was bleeding. When he reached up to touch his face Billy saw his knuckles looked like they'd been taken to a cheese grater.

Jasper looked worse. Blood covered most of his face. There were cuts around both eyes and along his jaw, and his nose looked a little too flat for his face.

"We need to call the police," Billy said. "They need to go to the hospital."

No one said anything. Marcy stood a few feet away looking over at Jasper one hand on her mouth. Her eyes were cold, assessing.

"Marcy?" Sarah called to her but she didn't answer.

"Marcy!" Billy shouted. "What do we do?"

Marcy moved then, but not to the sidewalk or to him or Sarah. She stepped right up to Jasper, whose eyes went wide as she grabbed him by the collar and picked him up.

"God damn son-of-a-bitch," she said, and planted a hard right hook into his face.

Billy jumped from Rocky's side and grabbed her. "What are you doing?"

Jasper fell against the pavement, eyes closed, not moving. Marcy pushed Billy away, and stepped past him.

"Stay here!" she said to Sarah and Rocky. She turned to Billy and grabbed his hand. "You, come with me."

She led him to the breezeway between the apartments buildings and stopped when they were just out of reach of the streetlights.

"Marcy, what is going on?" Billy demanded. "We need to cal-"

Marcy turned on him. "Jasper accused Rocky of attacking Sarah!"

Billy started. "What?"

"He told the police Sarah was cheating on him with Rocky and that Rocky was the one to beat her up. The police didn't believe him then, but Billy, Rocky is a trained fighter. He's eighteen and he just used excessive force on a man who accused him of assault once already. If we call the police now they will have to arrest him."

"But he was protecting Sarah," Billy said.

"I know that," Marcy said. "There's a good chance it will be dropped eventually, but there's also a chance it won't. It's Rocky's word against Jasper's."

"So what do we do?"

Marcy sighed. "I need you to hit me."

"What?!" Billy shouted.

"We have to make it look like Jasper attacked me," she said. "The police are less likely to arrest me for defending myself."

"You can't do that," Billy said. "What if they arrest you anyway?"

"Better me than Rocky," Marcy said. "I know people at the police station, and Ashley is in law school, she can find me a good lawyer. It won't be a big deal. But if Rocky goes to jail, he could get expelled from school, he won't graduate, no college, no future. Not to mention he could loose his teaching certification for martial arts. This is the only way Billy. I need you to do this."

Billy knew she was right. Her future would be much less affected than Rocky's by the worst case scenario. But didn't know if he could do it. How could he hit the woman he loved, even if it was to protect his friend?

Billy shook his head. "I can't."

"You have to, Billy," Marcy said. "We're running out of time, someone else could stumble along here any minute we have to do this now!"

She stepped back close to the wall. "Just do it. Quick and simple. You can do this.

She stood ready, feet braced and eyes closed. Billy raised his fist and took a deep breath.

"Billy?"

"Yes?" he said, hoping she'd thought of an alternative.

"Do it right the first time," she said. "Don't make me ask you twice."

Billy nodded but didn't say anything. His fist was raised and he closed his eyes for a minute. He thought of Jasper Kilne beating poor Sarah to death, and Lord Zedd and all the monsters he faced every week, calling forth the anger and aggression he used to fight them.

He opened his eyes and swung quick, as hard as he could. He felt his hand crack against bone as he connected. He had to step back from the swing to keep balance, but Marcy stayed on her feet and seconds later was standing straight up again, one hand cradling her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he said. He moved toward her but she put a hand out.

"It's fine," she said evenly. "You did well."

She walked out of the alley where Rocky and Sarah were still sitting. Jasper was still lying unmoving on the ground. Marcy went to Rocky's side. "Can you drive?"

Rocky nodded.

"Good," Marcy said. "Go with Billy, get cleaned up, then go home. You two were not here. You dropped us off in the parking lot together and went home. Do you understand? "

Rocky nodded again and Marcy cut her eyes to Billy.

"What about you?" he said.

"I'll be fine," she said. She stepped up to him and kissed him quickly. "I'll call you when this is all over. Go."

She took a step back and dug in Sarah's purse, pulling out a cell phone.

"Go!" she said again.

Billy took Rocky by the arm and let him to his truck, then ran off to the Rad Bug. He pulled out of the lot and kept his eyes on the rearview mirror the whole time to make sure Rocky was following him.

**Don't forget to write a review!**


	17. Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

**Okay, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for. At least it is if you've been reading this for the M rating. If not well…I guess that's too bad…**

Billy spent most of the night pacing through the house. His dad was away in Aspen for a board meeting and Rocky had gone home after cleaning up. Once the blood was cleaned up his injuries didn't appear very severe so hopefully Rocky's parents wouldn't be too upset when the saw him in the morning. The occasional black eye or split lip was a normal occurrence in martial arts training, there was a good chance they wouldn't notice.

He'd tried to sleep but couldn't relax. All he could think about was Marcy, sitting alone at the police station. What if they'd arrested her? What if Jasper pressed charges and she had to go to jail? She'd taken the fall for Rocky without question, confident that she'd fare better than him, but could he really let her sacrifice herself for his friend?

It was nearly six o'clock when there was a knock at the door. Billy answered it without checking and Marcy stood on the doorstep. She looked like death warmed over. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were wrinkled, and there was a large blue bruise across her left cheek.

"It's over," she said. "They dropped the charges."

She took a step forward and nearly fell into his arms. He just held her there, all the emotions from the previous night welling up inside him. He managed to keep the tears at bay, but couldn't control the shaking as she held on to him.

"It's okay," she said softly. She might have been shaking too; Billy wasn't sure because he could barely move himself. "It's over. It's over."

After a few minutes he regained enough composure to feel comfortable stepping away. He closed the door and locked it, then turned back to Marcy.

"Come sit down," he said. "What happened?"

He led her to the couch because it was the closest, and they sat down. He kept one hand wrapped around hers, afraid to let her go that she might slip away if he did.

Marcy nearly collapsed when she hit the soft cushions of the couch. She breathed deep a few times and Billy was certain she'd gotten less sleep than he did.

"I have a friend on the force, he just happened to be the one handling Sarah's case. I called him first and he took care of everything as best he could. Jasper woke up in the ambulance and demanded to press charges. He was drunk, almost twice the legal limit and ranting about me and Rocky beating the shit out of him.

"I told Morgan Jasper attacked us and was ranting about Rocky stealing his girlfriend. He believed I was defending myself but he had to take me in because of Jasper.

"They tried to push me through night court but it was a busy night and I didn't see the judge until about an hour ago. Ashley got one of the lawyers at the office where she was interning to come down and defend me. The judge took one look at the file and dismissed it as a waste of time. No one was going to believe I attacked Jasper maliciously when he was in violation of his restraining order and nearly dead drunk. If he hadn't regained consciousness and called his own lawyer they wouldn't have bothered going through the motions."

"But it's done now?" Billy said. "You can't get arrested again?"

Marcy shook her head. "No. The charges were dropped. There's nothing Jasper can do."

"What about Rocky?"

"As far as anyone knows he wasn't involved. Jasper was the only one to talk about him, but no one believes him. Even his lawyer wasn't very convincing."

"How's Sarah?"

"She's fine," Marcy said, stifling a yawn. "She came to court to testify that I was the only one with her in the parking lot, but they didn't even bother asking her. I sent her home with Ashley."

"How did you get here?"

"I asked Morgan to drop me off on his way home," she said over another yawn. "I didn't think I could drive and I wanted to see you first."

Her head tilted back against the pillows and she gave out a contented sigh. "God I could fall asleep right here."

With her head obscured by the cushions the bruise across her cheek was even more prominent. Billy felt his stomach turn at the sight of it. Without thinking he touched the sore with the back of his hand.

"It's doesn't hurt anymore," Marcy said.

Billy swallowed hard. "I can't believe I did that to you."

Her eyes shot open wide and she sat up. "You didn't. Jasper Kilne did. He did all of this. Don't blame yourself. Do you understand?"

Billy nodded at her demand, but he knew it would take more than her willpower to convince him not to take the blame.

"You need to rest," he said. "I should take you home."

She looked him up and down assessing him carefully. "You don't look in any better shape to drive than me," she said. "I can call Ashley or Devon to come get me."

Billy swallowed hard before speaking. "You could stay here and rest."

Her eyes closed and she relaxed even more into the sofa. "I shouldn't. I spent the night in a holding cell. I feel guilty enough sitting on your couch. I need a shower and clean clothes and…"

"I have a shower," he said. "And there's no point in bothering Ashley or Devon. They're probably not in much better shape than us anyway."

Marcy sighed. "You're right." She pulled herself to her feet and waited for him to lead the way.

His bedroom was in the back of the house, near the garage. It was originally designed to be a guest suit, with an attached bathroom that also opened into the hallway. He'd moved down here a few years ago because it was closer to the lab and he could run his computer connections through the wall without doing damage to the rest of the house. Plus, it gave him some privacy from his dad.

He set out towels and some clothes for Marcy and then went into the bedroom to wait. He laid back on the bed, suddenly exhausted from the night's experience. He still had a million questions for her, but they could wait. He didn't remember the water turning off or the weight on the bed shifting, but suddenly there was the strong smell of shampoo and an added warmth that followed him into his dreams.

When Marcy awoke the sun was low in the sky over the bed. She jumped suddenly, realizing it wasn't her window. Then she remembered where she was and the panic quickly faded. She could feel Billy behind her, his slow, even breathing as he slept, one are draped over her hips. He'd rolled against her in his sleep, but she didn't care.

He'd been asleep when she'd gotten out of the shower. She'd almost laughed at the site of him on his back, one arm draped over his eyes, the slow rising and falling of his chest the only proof he was still alive. The bed was small but it was soft and warm. She spread a quilt that was folded at the end of the bed over them and settled in to rest.

But now she was awake, and she was here, and she had no idea what to do next. She didn't have a car so she couldn't just leave, not that she wanted to, but she didn't want to wake Billy up either. Slowly she eased out of the bed, and made her way to the bathroom.

When she got to the mirror she nearly ran back out. She hadn't bothered to brush her hair and it was a mess. She spent several minutes combing through it with her hands until it looked not quite presentable, but much less frightening. She used the bathroom then picked up her clothes from the previous night and folded them quickly so she could carry them out with her. Her plan was to call Devon to come pick her up, but she felt guilty about leaving Billy alone.

When she left the bathroom Billy was still asleep, the arm he'd had around her now tucked under his chin in a fist. She couldn't resist sitting down on the bed next to him. He looked peaceful when he slept, it was hard to imagine him as the capable warrior she saw when she touched him. She wondered if she could read his dreams.

Slowly, carefully, she touched his cheek with the back of her hand. Nothing. Either he wasn't dreaming or he was about to wake up. She ran her fingers through his hair gently. She felt the light twinge of emotion from the touch and the corners of his mouth tipped up into a smile. She made the move a few more times and the smile deepened. Her hand fell into her lap and she sighed.

"Why'd you stop? I was enjoying that."

Marcy's mouth dropped in shock and she punched Billy in the shoulder. "How long have you been awake?"

He rolled on his back and stretched. "Since you got up. I felt you move and then I opened my eyes and you were gone."

"You could have said something."

"And miss that little scalp massage, no way!"

She laughed and crawled forward, laying her head on his chest. He put his arms around her and held her there. They stayed like that for several seconds, Marcy enjoying his touch, not really paying attention to his thoughts or emotions. She'd been around him long enough that she didn't notice every little twinge of his mind unless she was paying attention. That was probably why she didn't notice he was awake when she touched him, she was just looking on the surface, not really trying to find anything specific. She would have to remember to be more focused in the future.

"Marcy?" his voice came as a surprise, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Take the fall for Rocky?"

Marcy took a deep breath but didn't move. "It was the right thing to do."

Billy shifted, forcing her to sit up. "But you didn't have to do that," he said. "You could have just let Rocky face the police. You said yourself he would have been fine eventually."

"He might have," she said. "But even so, what would his parents have said when he called them from jail? What would the parents of his students think when they found out he'd been arrested for assault? How would his family pay a lawyer and court fees and bail? And what if, just by chance, it did go to trial, and he did get in trouble? Parole, jail time, community service, all of that leaves a record. He's eighteen, he doesn't need those kinds of problems."

"But you lied to the police, to your friends."

"I did what I had to do. And I didn't just do it for Rocky, I did it for me. I knew Jasper was bad news but I didn't do anything. I let it go because I didn't want to cause trouble, and it almost cost Sarah her life. Rocky did what I couldn't do. It was my mess to clean up. If I had been in that parking lot instead of him, they wouldn't have taken Jasper to the Emergency Room, they would have taken him to the morgue."

"Marcy…" He reached for her but she shifted away. She hadn't told that to anyone, how she blamed herself for Jasper's actions.

"It wasn't your fault," Billy said gently. "There's no way you could have known his true intentions, what he was really capable of."

"I did know," she said, knowing there was no way she could explain that to him.

"Just because you can read people's personalities doesn't mean you can read their minds," Billy said. "People who have bad attitudes do things for the best all the time, and people who are supposedly good can suddenly turn and hurt others. Look at Rocky. That look in his eyes when we pulled him off Jasper… I've seen him fight, I've seen him get angry plenty of times, but I've never seen him like that. I actually believed he might have been capable of killing him.

"It scared me to think Rocky could be capable of that… It scares me to think you are too."

Marcy pressed her lips together and looked down. She knew she was capable of that, given the right circumstances. She'd done it before. She had killed before, to protect her friends and her family. That was what drove her guilt the most now. After living as a warrior, a protector of the innocent and a soldier in battle, she'd backed off on her own instincts and it had caused her friends to come to harm. It made her feel weak, helpless. Why didn't she have the strength to protect them anymore?

"I'm sorry," she said incapable to stop the tears. "I just wanted to protect my friends."

The bed shifted and she felt Billy's strong arms wrap around her, pulling her into his chest. "It's okay," he said. "I'm not mad at you, I just needed to know why."

His hands were rubbing her back gently as he held her. The tears had stopped but Marcy didn't pull away. She felt safe there, in his arms, like nothing else mattered. She hadn't felt that way in a long time.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he whispered. "Do you have any idea what it means to me that you sacrificed yourself for my friends?"

Marcy smiled into Billy's tee-shirt. She did know. She could feel the gratitude and awe radiating from him.

"I couldn't have taken it if something bad happened to you, though."

_Nothing would have happened_, she thought. She had protection Rocky didn't. She was a woman, and automatically assumed weaker, even with her reputation as a boxer, she had friends on the police force and a roommate with a good internship at a top law firm. She could have tapped these recourses in Rocky's defense, but they wouldn't have been nearly as successful.

"I'm fine," she said forcing herself to sit up so she could see Billy's face.

Billy grimaced. "I still feel bad that you lied to the police."

Marcy sighed. "I hated lying," she admitted. "Morgan's been my friend a long time and he worked really hard to help me out, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't tell him the truth and ask him to cover it up. I don't think he would have done that anyway."

She reached out and put a hand on his cheek. "This was my lie, my burden. Don't take it onto yourself. It's over now, we don't have to lie anymore. We don't ever have to worry about it again."

"How do you do that?" Billy said suddenly.

"Do what?"

"Say exactly what I need to hear. It's like you almost can read my mind."

"Not your mind exactly," she said. "More like your emotions."

Billy smiled. "You're good at it."

The truth was surging forward in her mind. She wanted to tell him, now, tell him everything.

"You know I'd never lie to you."

Her hand was still on his cheek. He covered it with his own hand and moved it to his lips. "I know you wouldn't," he said. Then he hesitated, his eyes going cold. "I only wish…I could tell you more."

Marcy shook her head. "That's not your secret to tell. Besides, I have secrets too. Things in my past that I can't tell you, I may never be able to tell you. Things you may not even understand."

"You don't have to tell me anything," he said. "I'd never force you to reveal your secrets when I can't tell you my own."

"How do you do that?" Marcy asked.

"Do what?"

"Trust me so easily?"

Billy shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I just know that whatever it is it couldn't possibly change the way I feel about you, so it doesn't matter."

"And what about your secret?" she asked. "Would it change the way I feel about you if I knew the truth?"

"I don't know," Billy said. "I hope not."

She moved a little closer to him on the bed and took his face in both her hands. "One day we're going to have to face up to all of this. All of our secrets, all of our lives."

"I know," he said. "I promise one day I'll tell you everything, but it doesn't have to be now."

She nodded, running her fingers through his hair to the base of his skull and pulling him forward until his forehead touched with hers. She was tired of secrets, tired of hiding. She wanted him to know everything, but at the same time, she wanted to know everything about him as well. Maybe it was better this way, at least for now. His power was temporary and hers was useless, what good would it do to drag out the pain and the secrets when there'd be nothing they could do about it?

So she would wait for his secrets, and keep her own.

Almost on instinct her mouth found his, kissing hard, and deep. He hesitated at first, not sure what she wanted, but she kept kissing him, pulling him in. She pulled at the bottom of his tee-shirt and he shifted, moving his arms so she could pull it over his head. He was gorgeous underneath, toned and perfectly shaped, earned by years of martial arts training and dedication.

He mimicked her own actions, pulling off her borrowed shirt, exposing her bare chest. She hadn't bothered to put a bra back on after her shower. _Lucky for him_, she thought, thought it might have been fun if she'd given him a _little_ more of a challenge.

She was on her back now as he worked his way down her chest, kissing and touching, spending time on her breasts and her stomach, down to her waistline. He didn't hesitate there, but quickly pulled off the sweatpants in a surprisingly fluid motion. His own jeans went next leaving nothing between them but their own inhibitions.

He lay on top of her, and kissed her, his whole body covering hers. He pulled back just enough to see her face.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes." _I've made my decision_, she thought. _From now on I'm his, no matter what_.

**This pretty much ends the Rocky segue. Not long to the ending now. Part two is in progress. The bunnies may need to take a nap first, or they may just decide A Chance in Heaven needs some more attention, or that non fanfic story I need to finish, plus there's that other series….**

**Oh did I mention the part about feeding my ego and writing a review? Thanks!**


	18. Shall Set You Free

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Billy was in his lab, running a last minute scan of a computer code he'd been working on when he heard the door open. Tommy stepped in.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Tommy asked.

"One more second," Billy said tapping the keys of the computer with furious precision. "Where's Rocky?"

"He wanted to wait in the truck," Tommy said. "I think all this computer equipment is a little intimidating for him."

Billy laughed. It was just as well, there was something he wanted to talk to Tommy about anyway.

"Hey, Tommy, I wanted to ask, I mean tell you…." He took a deep breath and just forced himself to say it. "I want to tell Marcy, about the Power Rangers."

Tommy's face went hard for just a second. "Billy, you know we can't just do that."

"We've told people before," Billy said. "Rocky, Adam and Aisha knew before they became Rangers."

"And it was dangerous, for us and for them," Tommy said.

"I just hate the lying."

"We all hate it Billy. You think I like not being able to tell my mom why I'm always late? You think Rocky likes having to sneak into the house after curfew or Kim cutting short time with her dad? We all have to make sacrifices, that's part of the game."

"But Tommy!"

"No, Billy. I'm sorry. We can't just tell anyone we want, that's the way it is."

And with those final words Billy knew the decision was final. It occurred to him he could tell Marcy anyway, but it would make things worse. Tommy was the leader and if he went against his friend over this it would break the team. He knew he could never do that to his other friends, to the Rangers.

"You're right, Tommy," he said. And that was the end of it.

Almost by serendipity the silence was suddenly filled with the rhythmic chime of their communicators.

The boys were late, again. It was the third time this week and Marcy was starting to get annoyed. It was one thing for Tommy to run behind on his own, but when he was supposed to be riding with Billy and Rocky she expected punctuality to be a little easier to come by.

They were all supposed to work out together at the park. Tommy was supposed to pick Rocky and Billy up after his martial arts class downtown. After the first hour she was simply angry, but when hour two ticked by she got worried. She ran all the way back to her car and dug her cell phone out of her purse. She called both Billy and Tommy's houses-she didn't know Rocky's number-and she called her own apartment to see if someone had called there. Nothing.

Finally, at two hours and fifteen minutes she saw Tommy's truck sidle up behind her Caddy. All three boys got out looking like they'd already had enough of a workout to last them a week.

"Two hours!" she said. "Two hours you keep me waiting."

Billy opened his mouth to say something but Tommy stepped in. "It was my fault. I was running late and then we got caught in traffic from the monster attack."

"There was an attack?" she asked. "I didn't hear the sirens."

"It was in the warehouse district," Rocky said. "They must not have sounded them here."

"I guess not," Marcy replied. Something was off. Tommy and Rocky were lying. Billy said nothing, just hung back not meeting her eyes.

_They don't know I know about their secret activities_, she thought. _They think they're covering for him. _

Tommy stepped up in front of her, Billy was still hanging back. "We're still going to practice," Tommy said. "You don't have to stay though, if you don't want to."

He reached out and casually patted her shoulder, only Marcy didn't feel the touch as the friendly gesture he meant it to be. The second his hand made contact with her everything went white, then she saw it. Tommy, only it wasn't Tommy, it was the White Power Ranger, in the heat of battle against some monster she didn't recognize. The other Rangers were around him, fighting at his side. She couldn't see their faces, but she didn't need to.

_By the powers, why didn't I see it before! _

The vision was still clear in her head when she realized someone was calling her name.

"Marcy? Are you okay?"

Billy was standing in front of her now. Rocky and Tommy were heading across the lawn to find a good practice spot.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

He reached out and touched her face and Marcy almost flinched away. Pure willpower and morbid curiosity kept her steady. His touch was like a cannonball to the chest. The images of battle still fresh in his memory.

The Blue Power Ranger. Of course, it all made sense. Why they were always disappearing, rushing off for what seemed like no reason, color being attached to their power. And Tommy, it was obvious now why she'd seen green and white in his aura. He was the Green Rangers first, the one who disappeared and was replaced a few months later by the White.

_Why didn't I see it?_ she wondered, but the answer was obvious. She hadn't really wanted to see. She'd wanted to pretend it wasn't so simple, that it wasn't important.

"Marcy!" Billy said, dragging her from her thoughts. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

_No, I don't think I'll be alright again._

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't feel like practicing anymore."

"Okay," Billy said. "We can do something else." He took her hand and let her back to her car. The images were fading as the battle fatigue passed, but Marcy would never be able to forget them. After everything she'd been through here she was again, in love with a warrior who had an obligation to his power that trumped everything else, even her own safety.

_What do I do now?_

**Short but sweet. So what do you think Marcy will do now that she knows the truth? Let me know what you think! **

**Remember: Feed my ego-write a review!**


	19. Know For Sure

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

"I can't. I won't do it again. I can't take it."

Marcy was pacing inside the cave. She'd dropped Billy off at his house, feigning fatigue, so she could come here alone. Along the walls of the cave, fifteen different specters stood, watching her journey across the rock floor with stoic expressions.

"You don't have to give up," a tall woman near the edge of the crowd said. It was her grandmother, or at least, the piece of her spirit that still resided within the crystal. "Who better to understand your needs than one of Zordon's chosen?"

"It's not the same," Marcy said. "The ninjetti don't pass their powers on through blood. They can choose to give it up, to move on with their lives. He's going to graduate next year, go on to college. What happens then?"

"You knew that was an issue before you committed to him," a large man with long wispy hair said from the center of the group. He was her great-uncle, and held the white crystal, and it was at his deathbed that Marcy had her first vision and predicted Jaden would hold the crystal next. "How were you going to solve that problem then?"

Marcy paused in her pacing and sighed. "I was going to ask him to move on with me… I-I don't know what I was thinking."

"You were thinking you were in love with him," her grandmother-spirit said.

"That's not the only reason." The crowd parted and a tall thin man with close cut hair and a pair of thick rimmed glasses stepped forward.

Marcy stood in front of the specter. Her father looked even better in death than he had in life. His spirit still carried the belt of tools that was his constant companion. If she let her vision go fuzzy she could almost see Billy standing in front of her, tools in hand, ready to fix any problem or work on a new machine at the drop of a hat.

"No," Marcy admitted. "It's not."

"Then what is?"

Marcy took a deep breath. "I can't be a pawn in another war," she said. "Baylin slaughtered you in front of me. He made me choose between you and the innocents on the planet. I can't make a choice like that again, and I won't ask Billy to either."

"You don't know that would happen," her grandmother said.

"Eventually it would," Marcy answered. "Rita and Zedd keep a close watch on the Rangers. It's a wonder they haven't tried for me yet. Without the full power of the Tanzetti I can't defend myself against them, and if they ever found out about the crystals…"

There was quiet in the chamber while everyone digested this. They all knew what had happened on the moon-base with Baylin. How he'd killed Jaden right in front of her, just to prove he had more power than she did. He knew she was the biggest threat to him because her power of empathy would allow her to find the source of his powers and then she could destroy it…if she could touch him. Killing Jaden shattered her, put her off guard and because of that they lost the moon-base, and two teammates, her father was killed in that battle as well because she wasn't quick enough to get to him.

The thought of Billy having to make a similar choice, to watch her cut down by an enemy because he was too busy protecting the innocent. It was the bane of a warrior's life, and she wouldn't be the one to put him through that.

"I won't do it," Marcy said. "I won't be reason his world shatters completely."

"And will it not shatter when you leave him?" her grandmother asked.

"It will heal," she answered. "I'll make sure of it."

"You need to know for sure," her father said. "You need to see it for yourself."

Marcy gripped the crystal the hung around her neck. "I know."

It was a week before she got a chance to prove it. She was supposed to meet Billy at the Youth Center but when she arrived he wasn't there. Ernie told her he'd just left with the gang. And then she heard the sirens indicating a monster was attacking.

She walked through the back halls of the Youth Center until she found and empty corridor. Her hand gripped the pink stone at her neck tight and took a deep breath, not wanting to move forward, but too afraid to go back.

"Billy," she whispered and the magic took instantly.

It had been ten years since she'd teleported with magic and she'd forgotten the intensity of the sensation. A brief moment of weightlessness, surrounded by pink electricity, then, as quickly as it came, it was gone and you were back on solid ground.

Solid ground wasn't so solid when you weren't used to it anymore. Marcy hit hard and lost her balance, falling into the hard packed dirt of the desert. It took several seconds to regain her focus and realize she was no longer falling. She rolled onto her knees and looked around. She was on a cliff above the rock quarry and the sounds of battle were echoing from below.

Slowly she crawled to the edge and looked over the rocks. The scene below took her breath away. All six Power Rangers, fully morphed were fighting a large monster that looked like a giant black lizard with wings. They were fighting hard, coming at the monster from all angles, but it was too much for them. Despite its massive size and huge wingspan the monster was incredibly agile and able to defend itself from multiple attacks as once. He threw the Rangers back easily then opened his hand revealing some weapon Marcy couldn't identify. Fire rained down the Rangers, pinning them against the rock.

Marcy reacted on instinct, as if the brief touch of power from the teleport reactivated something inside her. She opened her hand and the power flowed freely, targeting its source without thought or hesitation.

Pink lighting rained down on the monster, throwing it across the quarry countering its attack. It wasn't enough to destroy the monster-she'd never be able to do that on her own-but it was enough to give the Rangers time to regroup. She saw Tommy was already on his feet, rallying the others quickly, taking advantage of the momentary distraction.

But it didn't help much because in the next second red and white lightning rained down on the monster and in a rush of smoke and fire the monster grew to the size of a ten story building. She could hear the calls from below and the Rangers summoned their Zords. Marcy backed off from the cliff, knowing there was little else she could do there.

Her hand went to the crystal once again. She didn't need to touch it to draw it's power, but it had become a habit in the past and it comforted her to feel it's heat in her hand. She was going to teleport back to the Youth Center when another though occurred to her.

Zordon.

She knew all about the power coins and the war between the Rangers of Eltar. The stories of the Ninjetti powers being forged into coins to create the original Rangers were the stuff of bedtime stories and campfire tales on her planet. Her own grandmother would tell stories of the Tanzetti warriors who fought alongside Zordon and the others during the civil war against Rita Repulsa. The war where Dunclan, the Green Ranger had betrayed the others to Rita and turned his own power against them. He killed everyone except Zordon, who was able to gather the power coins and hide them just before Dunclan and Rita found him and banished him into the dimensional vortex.

Then Rita had turned on Dunclan and stole his power coin, leaving him stripped of power and badly wounded. For years Dunclan wandered the universe in search of new power, fueled only by revenge. He found other powers eventually, powers that gave him enormous strength and energy, but also deteriorated his body. By then he also had a new name: Lord Zedd. Zedd hunted down Rita, and banished her into the space dumpster along with Goldar and her other minions.

Or so the story went.

There was one way to find out. If the Power Rangers lived in Angel Grove then Zordon would likely have a base nearby, probably hidden in the desert. She knew the desert in this area held an immense amount of power in itself. Likely there was a direct portal to power from the planet here somewhere. The Tanzetti crystals had been attracted to it when bringing her here, likely because the planetary power would mask other powers in the area, making them difficult to track. Zordon would have been attracted to it for the same reason.

There was one problem, her power couldn't locate the base directly. Ninjetti power was forged from the spirits of nature that created life across the universe, whereas the Tanzetti crystals drew power directly from the earth. They could work in conjunction, but in general they opposed each other if brought into direct contact, like two same poled magnets. However, if she created the right signal in the right place…

It was worth a try.

Her grip tightened on the crystal and she relaxed letting the power build. She had never met Zordon personally so she concentrated on the stories she'd heard as a child. She could still hear her grandmother's deep tenor voice speaking to the rhythm of a crackling fire.

Slowly she breathed the name, "Zordon."

This time she was prepared for the landing and managed to stay on her feet, barely. She was in a mountain pass, large rock cliffs edged up on either side of her. She turned in a full circle but saw nothing but brown sand and rock. But she could feel it.

The power was there, an energy emanating from something nearby. A shield generator perhaps? It would make sense, Zordon was smart enough to know to have multiple layers of defense. If there was a shield there would be sensors as well. Her presence would be detected; she only needed to make her intentions known. Slowly she concentrated, pulling the power and sending it towards the shield, not attacking, just acknowledging, getting their attention.

After several seconds she let the power break off. They wouldn't be able to teleport her in if her power was active. She held still, waiting. Then she felt the sensation, a light electrical charge that surrounded her body in white and pulled her away from the ground. Then the light was gone and she was standing in a large black room surrounded by computer kiosks connected in a semi circle at the foot of a large vortex tube. Inside the tube was a face, looking down from a sea of pale blue light.

"Hello, Zordon," she said. "I think we need to talk."

Tommy powered down immediately after teleporting back to the command center. Fighting the Terraraptor monster had been brutal, but the battle wasn't the first thing on his mind. Someone had helped them during the fight.

He saw the others powering down and stepped to the center of the room. "Zordon, what happened out there?" he asked. "Who sent that lighting when the monster had us cornered?"

"Yeah," the others asked in chorus. "Who was it? Is it a new Ranger?"

"Calm down, Rangers," Zordon said. "Yes, there was an outside force that aided you in battle today. I have made contact with her, but she is refusing to let her identity be known."

"She?" Kimberly asked.

"Yes, she is a warrior from a planet called Caldyne. An ancient power known as the Tanzetti Crystals gave seven warriors of a chosen family power to fight the forces of evil. The planet was destroyed several years ago and the she is the only remaining survivor. I'm afraid that is all I can tell you."

"But why didn't she want us to know?" Billy asked. "She could help us."

"The Tanzetti crystal is a delicate power. On its own the individual has certain abilities to fight and use magic, but only with their combined power do they have unlimited strength. Her power is of limited use to you and she does not want to put herself or you Rangers at any more risk."

"But we wouldn't-" Tommy protested but the Mage cut him off.

"It is not my choice, White Ranger. She asked me to swear to keep her identity secret and I had no choice but to do so. Her knowledge of your identities is a risk and only by cooperating with her desires could I keep your powers safe."

"She knows who we are?" This time it was Rocky who spoke.

"Yes."

"But how Zordon?" Kimberly asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that, it was also part of the oath I gave to her."

"So what do we do now?" Tommy asked.

"There is nothing you can do," Zordon said. "Go back to your lives and do not worry about the Tanzetti warrior. In exchange for my silence she has sworn not to interfere with anything you do in the future. You will not see her again."

Tommy nodded and the others gathered around, preparing to teleport out.

**So how do you like them apples? We're coming close to the end of part one. Hope you are enjoying it. Feel free to review, let me know what you like. **

**BTW, the history of Zordon, Rita and Lord Zedd came from a fan page I read a while back. I couldn't find the original source but it was from a fan who claimed he met a producer at a convention who talked about Zedd originally being a Power Ranger along with Zordon and betraying them. I liked that idea so I took my own spin on it. Hope you like it. **

**Remember: Feed my ego-write a review. **


	20. Do This Anymore

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

**And yes, I stole the title for this from the Nickelback song because they rock. **

They entered the Youth Center together, having teleported into an alleyway off to the side. Billy scanned the room for Marcy. He was late again and he knew he'd be in trouble for that. She wasn't anywhere to be seen so he sat at the table with his friends. Ernie immediately came over to ask if they wanted drinks for food. After they ordered Tommy leaned into the table.

"Man, I can't stop thinking about that woman, what did Zordon call her?"

"Tanzetti," Billy replied.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "I can't imagine her out there, all alone like that."

"I can understand being afraid," Rocky said. "Having powers like that is a big responsibility."

"I know," Tommy said. "I just wish she would have been willing to tell us who she was, at least then she wouldn't be alone."

"Sometimes you have to keep secrets," Billy said, bitterness clear in his voice. He still hadn't fully forgiven Tommy for opposing him about Marcy. He'd gone back and forth a million times over the pros and cons of defying his leader for the woman he loved. And now, here was Tommy having sympathy for a stranger who was just protecting her own secret. "It's part of the game."

Tommy grimaced and Billy felt a twinge of guilt. He shouldn't be bitter; Tommy was doing his job, protecting the team. But that didn't make it any more fair. Nothing was fair, that was life as a Ranger.

Ernie came back to the table and handed out drinks and snacks. Then he paused before going back to the bar.

"Oh, there she is," Ernie said looking across the room. Marcy had just walked through the entrance. He patted Billy on the shoulder. "She was in here before looking for you, but then she disappeared. I thought she'd abandoned you. Good thing I was wrong."

He laughed to himself as he walked away, but Billy just felt even sicker. First he'd snapped at Tommy and now he'd face Marcy's disappointment. He stood up, bracing himself for the blow. Marcy didn't look happy. She didn't smile when she approached him and when she kissed him on the cheek it was cold and sterile. He was in more trouble than he thought.

"Hi," she said quietly. "I've been looking for you. Let's go sit down."

Billy nodded and she took his hand, but the second she stepped forward she stumbled and fell into the table right in front of Tommy.

"God, I'm sorry," she said straightening up. "I didn't spill anything did I?"

"No, you're good," Tommy said. He smiled at Marcy, but it was tight, polite, but fake.

_He's scared I'm going to tell her_, Billy thought. _He doesn't trust either of us_.

Marcy didn't seem to notice and led him to a table in the far corner. She sat down facing him, her hand still in his resting on the table.

"Do I at least get to apologize first?" he asked.

Marcy started. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "For not being here. We had…a thing."

Marcy nodded, her lips pressed tight together. "Yeah, about that."

She took a deep breath then spoke quickly. "I can't do this. I thought I could handle it, the secrets, the lies, even disappearing. But I can't take it. I can't take not knowing where you are, constantly worrying about what you're doing and whether or not you're coming back. I just…I can't take the lies anymore."

"I've told you everything I can…"

"I know," she said. "But it's not enough."

"We both have secrets," he said. "You said that yourself."

"I would have told you mine, but now I'm glad I didn't."

"You're breaking up with me?"

"I'm sorry, Billy," Marcy said. She stood quickly. "I just can't do this anymore."

Billy jumped up and blocked her way. "I'll tell you," he said. "I'll tell you everything."

Marcy shook her head. He could see the tears in her eyes as they refused to meet his. "It wouldn't make a difference. You'd still belong to them."

She pushed past him and headed down the stairs towards the door.

"Marcy!"

He barreled down the stairs after her and nearly slammed into Tommy just as he hit the door.

"Billy! What happened?"

"Out of my way, Tommy," he snapped, not bothering to hide his anger. He pushed Tommy's massive frame out of the way and ran flat out for the door. He hit the parking lot just in time to see Marcy's motorcycle peel out into the night.

*****

Tommy stopped short when he reached the parking lot. The whine of the motorcycle was clear in the evening air and he saw the taillights disappear into traffic. The others were only a second behind him, Kimberly running ahead to reach Billy first. They hadn't heard the conversation but it was clear from their body language what was going on.

Tommy felt terrible because he knew if he'd handled things differently with Billy this might not have happened. Unconsciously he slipped a hand into his pocket where he'd hidden the note.

_White Ranger,_

_I know everything. Take care of Billy for me. _

_I hope one day he'll forgive us both._

_Madala Tanzetti_

Marcy was the Tanzetti warrior. It made perfect sense. Zordon said she knew who they were, but didn't want to reveal herself. Plus the way she seemed to be able to read them so well. And the palm reading, she wasn't reading his aura, she was reading his powers, at least partially. Green and white had been the first two colors, he didn't know what red and black were but that could be anything, something else in his past…or his future.

The others were all comforting Billy now. Kim had her arms around his neck and he was sure she was saying all the right things. She had a gift for that, everything sounded better in her soft voice. But Tommy held back. He knew Billy would at least partially blame him for this, and the blame was deserved. It would take time before he could face his friend again.

He also had a lot of questions that needed answers.

**One more chapter before the finale!! Yea!! I'm so happy, I hope you are too, well maybe you aren't cause that was a pretty shitty thing for Marcy to do, but I assure you it's not over. Tanzetti Reborn is well on it's way to completion even as you read this. **

**Drop me a line and let me know if you enjoyed this journey as much as I did. Catch you at end!! **


	21. Epilogue: The Price We Pay

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

*****

Tommy knocked on the door and it opened a second later. A tall, thin woman with long blonde hair and black rimmed glasses answered.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Is Marcy here?"

The woman's face fell. "She moved out," the woman replied. "Said something about getting a new job. She paid her rent through the month and left."

"Did she say where she was going or…"

The blonde shook her head. "No but…what did you say your name was?"

"Tommy. Tommy Oliver."

The woman nodded. "Hang on." She disappeared behind the door then emerged a few moments later with a long letter envelope. "She said to give this to you, and only you."

Tommy took the letter and nodded. "Thank you."

The door closed and Tommy walked the stairs down to his truck. Once inside he tore the envelope open. There was a single sheet of paper inside, another letter.

_Tommy,_

_I'm sorry to put all of this on you, but I thought you would be the most likely to understand. If I revealed myself to you it would compromise the team. Billy's loyalties are already divided, I can see that, and I didn't want to divide them further. _

_I never meant for any of this to happen. I never wanted to know who you were or what you do. For that I'm sorry. _

_I never mean to fall in love, but I did, and for that I'm not sorry. You may not understand but I did this _because_ I love him. It was the only way I knew to protect him, and all of you. I hope I made the right choice. _

_Take care of the team and don't give up. You are a great leader Tommy, I've seen it. Billy _will_ forgive you. I've seen that too. _

_Don't try to find me and don't stop fighting the good fight. _

_May the power protect you all,_

_Madala Erina Selana Tanzetti _

Tommy read the note twice, not sure what to think. The leader in him knew she was right, she was doing what she thought was best to protect the team. But the friend in him was angry. How dare she abandon Billy like that? How dare she run away after everything she'd done?

He sighed and crumpled the note up, then tore it to pieces. Maybe she was right, and maybe she wasn't. And maybe none of it was worth it after all.

*****

ONE MONTH LATER

*****

The door bell rang and Kim jumped up quickly to answer it. She was shocked to see Billy standing on the doorstep.

"What's wrong?" she asked looking at the hard expression on his face.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

Kimberly nodded. She was pretty sure she knew what this was about, but she also knew there was no way Billy could change her mind. She stepped back from the door and walked back into the living room of the Campbell's house. Aisha and her parents had gone out to dinner, but Kim had declined claiming she still wanted to rest from her accident.

When she reached the couch she stopped and turned waiting for Billy to speak.

"You have to go," he said.

Kim shook her head and sighed. "I made up my mind."

"Kim, you can't pass up an opportunity like this for the Power Rangers."

"Why can't I?" she said. "It's my choice. I love being a Power Ranger and I love being with all of you. I love it even more than gymnastics. Nothing means more to me then the team."

"It's not worth it, Kim," he said solemnly and the Pink Ranger was taken aback. "It's not worth the price we pay."

"What are you saying, Billy," she asked. "Do you want to quit?"

"I wish I'd had the chance," he said quietly. "Don't do this, Kim. Don't give up your life for this."

He took a step back for the door, having said he peace.

"Billy," Kim said softly. "Would you really have quit? Would you have quit for her?"

"Yes, Kim," he said evenly. "I would have."

With that he opened the door and walked out.

*****

***Deep Breath* Oh wow, it's over. Ahhh…the finishing a story high. It never lasts. Good thing there's a sequel! **

**Write some reviews. What do you think of my first completed fanfiction? My curious mind would like to know. Drop me a line, feed my ego. **


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